Walls of Ivy
by BecauseI'mageek
Summary: The future: A girl who can control plants seeks out her father at a New York address. The past: Charles Xavier has to leave the safety of his mansion to save the world. Can either of them do it? With a little help from friends, perhaps.
1. Chapter 1

Beginnings

A/N Hello! So basically, we start with the daughter of Lena and Charles, roughly twenty two years after the story of Miss Fantastic took place. This is going to be like DOFP, but obviously with my own spin on things and also the timings are slightly different as Miss Fantastic was in 2015, and instead of going back fifty years, Logan is only going to go back twenty years. But we'll get to that later. Anyways, here's chapter one! Enjoy, and please review!

When Gaiathryn wakes, the sun is blinding her, coming through her curtains and shining bright on her bed as if to say 'Hey, look at me! I'm bright and warm, and get up!'. It's nature's way of telling her to get off her bum and do something. She snorts, and rolls over, shoving her face in the pillow. Several strands of brown hair highlighted with green fall over her cheeks.

There's a knock on the door, and Gaia lifts her head, brushing away the stray hair.

"Yes?" She says. She knows who it is of course, her mum Lena. Like her mum, Gaia is a telepath, and can sense her mum's mind. Lena must have sensed Gaia's, which is how she knows she's awake.

The door opens slightly, and Lena pokes her head through the gap.

"Morning." She says, grinning. "Breakfast in five?"

Gaia nods sleepily and smiles.

"Of course." She knows it wasn't really a question. She can hear her godfather clattering about with bowls and spoons downstairs in the kitchen. He's a morning person, and somehow seems to believe that everyone else is as well. Thankfully though, Lena got used to it and Gaia grew up with it, so doesn't have as large an effect as it might have done. Even so, Lena stifles a yawn before going back downstairs.

Gaia sits up, and swings her legs over the side of the bed. She can hear her mother and godfather bickering downstairs, and she laughs. Sometimes she thinks that they never stop bickering.

She pulls on her slippers and then walks out her room, taking the stairs two at a time, at a run. Gaia still runs down the stairs, like a little girl, despite the fact that she's 21. She likes the feeling of her hair rushing out behind her.

Then, of course, she's at the bottom of the stairs, her heart beating slightly faster than normal.

She walks into the kitchen, and smiles at her godfather.

He grins back.

"Sleep well?" He asks. She nods, and pours a bowl of Weetabix. He hands her a cup of tea, and she looks at it dubiously. He's still awful at making tea.

Lena notices the look on her face, and laughs, remembering when she came to Clint all those years ago.

"That's my girl." She says, and Clint gives her a death stare. Then he turns back to Gaia.

"Can you check the flowerbeds? I think the roses are dying a little." He asks. Gaia nods.

"Of course." Gaia loves using her mutation. Lena snorts quietly into her coffee. The idea of a trained assassin like Hawkeye caring so deeply about flowers still amuses her. He probably just does it for Gaia's sake. He knows how hard it is for her, not using her mutation, and probably keeps planting more plants just so she can tend to them.

Once she's finished her breakfast, Gaia heads up to get dressed. She pauses in front of the mirror to brush her hair, and sighs at her hair, just like she does every other morning. Her green highlights in her hair are the only things that mark her out as different. It's got easier as she's got older, as she can just pretend it's a fashion statement, but the dark Ivy green her hair is unusual , and not a commonly found dye colour. Often she's been asked how she got that colour.

When she was little though, the hair was more difficult to pass off. Lots of mothers whose children and tried to play with looked down on her for it, although they looked down on her mother more. She heard them thinking in their heads about how irresponsible it was of Lena to let her young daughter dye her hair. In those moments, Gaia just wanted to scream and let the vines grow from the ground, strangling those people who assumed they were better than her. Especially as her mother is also a telepath, and could also hear them thinking she was irresponsible and stupid.

She goes back downstairs, and opens the door into the garden. She can already feel the plants calling to her, willing her to let them grow to the skies. She can't let them, of course. Somebody would notice.

And after Cuba( which she knows her mother was involved in but she won't tell her anything), people have been wary of strange occurrences.

She lets the roses grow slightly, and she feels a sense of satisfaction. She can use her mutation to create beautiful things, and in small uses, it's not noticed. She knows her mother is slightly jealous of her because of this.

When she comes back inside, Clint smiles at her.

"The garden looks lovely, doesn't it?" He says. Gaia nods. "The roses okay?" Gaia nods again. "Brilliant. Thanks."

"No problem." Gaia smiles, and walks through the kitchen and into the lounge. She picks up her current reading book, Swallowdale, and smiles. She loves reading about the adventures of John, Susan and the rest, even if it does make her feel a bit jealous. They're just ordinary people, and they're having so much fun. Gaia is a mutant, she's different, and she's stuck inside all day, not doing anything useful because her mother and godfather won't let her have a job or anything.

That's when she decides she really needs to leave.

The thought of leaving, however tempting, scares her a bit. Where would she go? She could join the Avengers, she supposes, but would they have her? Anyway, they are all like cousins to her. They'd tell her to go back to her mother.

Maybe she could try find her father.

Gaia doesn't know much about her father, in fact, the only thing she does know is that she gained her blue eyes off him. Her mother won't tell her anything, and Gaia won't ask her, as whenever someone mentions him she looks so miserable she just might crawl into a corner and sob. Her godfather, Clint, never knew her father, and won't even tell her his name. Just that her mother loved him very much and the circumstances of their separation was traumatic, so it was best not to mention him.

Her mother strolls in, humming, and Gaia's heart sinks. Lena didn't hear any of those thoughts, did she? No, probably not, Gaia thinks. She's been practicing her shields over the past couple of years, and she knows it makes it more difficult for her mother to read her mind. Gaia _is_ a telepath after all, she should have reasonable defences against other Telepaths.

"Gaia?" Her mother says.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind finding an address for me?" Gaia rolls her eyes, but nods. "Thank you,honey. My address book is in the study, on the desk."

"Whose address?"

"Luke Xylander." Luke is a childhood friend of Lena's, and it's his birthday next week.

Gaia nods, and walks down the hall to the study. She spots the pink address book immediately, and picks it up, flicking through the well worn pages. When she gets to X, she skips a name, Charles Xavier, and copies down Luke Xylander's address.

She's about to put the book down when she spots the edge of a piece of paper peaking out the back of the pink book. She gingerly pulls out the piece of paper, and sets the book down.

It's a photograph, of two people sitting on a vast green lawn.

The first she recognises as her mother, but twenty odd years younger. She's smiling in a way Gaia has never seen her smile, and she's looking at the man beside her with a look of complete adoration.

The man has brown hair, an easy grin, and most scarily, bright blue eyes. Exactly the shade of Gaia's.

Is this man her father?


	2. Chapter 2- Photographs

Photographs

A/N Hello again!

disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to MARVEL

Gaia walks carefully through the house, clutching the photo in her hand as though it's a lifeline. She's looking for someone, but she's not sure who until she sees them.

Clint turns when Gaia walks through the door, and he frowns at her shellshocked expression, and takes in the piece of paper in her hand. She comes towards it, and hands him the paper, which Clint can now see is a photograph. He takes it from her shaking hand and stares at it.

He's never met Charles Xavier, but he knows this has to be him. The blue eyes for a start, and the grin he sees light up his goddaughter's face nearly every day.

And Lena is sitting next to him, laughing slightly. She's probably about the age when she came to Clint, pregnant and alone. Her hair is the right length.

He holds it up to the light.

When her godfather holds up the photograph, Gaia gasps. There are words on the back, written in a handwriting she doesn't recognise.

She grabs the photograph off a startled Clint, and then turns it over, showing him the writing.

 _For_ _Lena_ , _Charles_

Charles. Her father's name.

Clint looks at Gaia, then bites his lip. There's a questioning look in her eyes, and as much as it feels like betraying Lena, because he promised her he wouldn't tell Gaia, he nods.

Gaia lets out a breath.

It's him.

"Who is he?" Gaia says eventually. She has a lot more questions than this, but she figures this is a good start. Other questions pop out of her mouth though. "What is he like? Is he like me?"

She's ready to go on when Clint interrupts.

"Hey, Gaia, ssh." He pulls a chair out, and sits her on it. He sits across from her at the table, and takes her hands. "Gaia, I'm sorry, but I never knew your father." Gaia sighs, and the excitement holding her shoulders taught lets go, and she sags with disappointment.

"Oh."

" I had one very brief phone call with him when he first met your mother, but other than that I only know what your mother told me." Gaia sits up slightly, willing him to go on. He frowns at her. "Don't tell your mother I'm telling you this. She'll kill me."

Gaia laughs.

"My lips are sealed."

Clint gives her an uncertain look, but continues.

"His name is Charles Xavier, and he's a mutant like you. I don't know what his mutation is, but I don't think it's plant control. He's also a geneticist, and a professor of it. He met your mother when he was putting together a team of mutants to save the world, and then they did, but she had to leave. I am not going to tell you why she had to leave. Just that she did."

He can at least tell Lena he didn't tell Gaia that her mother is officially dead.

Gaia takes in all this information. So he's clever, and brave. He saved the world! Cool!

But why did her mother have to leave? Did Charles not love her?

"Did my mum love him?" She asks.

Clint looks at Gaia.

"Yes. More than anything else in the world. In the first couple of weeks that she was here, I think the heartbreak almost killed her." He pauses. "She says she doesn't love him anymore, but I know she does."

Lena fiddles with the locket round her neck as she sits on her bed, looking at the photographs. She doesn't take at this folder very often, but when she does, she looks at the photos properly.

There's one of Raven writing a report with Moira, both of them sitting at the dining room table, faces creased with concentration.

Another one makes her laugh. It's of Aiysha and Alex playing table football, and Alex is jumping in the air in victory. Aiysha has her head thrown back, laughing and grinning.

Then there's Hank strapping wings onto a nervous looking Sean. Erik is standing behind them, looking curious.

Finally, there's one of Charles. Lena pauses when she sees it, and sighs. She's memorised this picture, like the rest, so it doesn't shock her how happy he looks, but the pang of heartache this picture causes every time surprises her. It seems worse today, as it rained. Gaia's eyes are always bluer in the rain. So were Charles'.

These are the days when she really misses him. Wonderful, happy Charles, a man with a vision and a dream. A dream he thought included her. She read his thoughts. He thought they had a future. So did she.

She feels the sobs coming, just like they always do. Every time, she asks herself why she does this to herself, making herself cry and sob, wishing Charles and the others were there with her. She says she will never do it again, but she always does. The lure of the brief happiness the photos give her is too much.

She shifts them, looking for the last one. Of her and Charles on the lawn. It's not there. She sits up, her heart beating faster, scrabbling through the pictures, trying to find it. Where is it?

She's about to burst into a fresh wave of tears when a memory comes to her.

She took the photo with her last time she tried to write to Charles. It must be in the address book.

She gathers up the photos quickly and puts them carefully in the folder. Then she tucks the folder in its hiding place between her mattress and the wooden frame of her bed and tucks the locket under her top.

Gaia sits in the lounge, lying back on the pillows, thinking about what Clint told her.

She now knows the identity of her father, and what he looks like. She doesn't know what to do now though. Sure, she knows his name, but what now? From what her godfather said, it's obvious she can't mention him without breaking her mother's heart, nor can she run off to find him. She doesn't know his address.

Wait.

Gaia sits up. What was that name she looked up in her mother's address book before she found the photograph? Luke Xylander. And what name did she have to look past to find it?

Charles Xavier.

She leaps off the sofa, and flies out of the room, then pauses. In the corridor in front of her is her mother, walking briskly towards the study. She looks as if she doesn't want to be seen.

So Gaia follows her.

It's not hard, her mother is too distracted by something to notice Gaia's quiet footsteps creeping along the corridor.

Lena reaches the study, and heads to the desk, reaching for the pink address book. She flicks through the pages quickly, and when she comes to X, takes in a sharp breath. No picture falls out, no picture is tucked into the pages. She flicks through, her heart rate rising. Did Clint find it? Oh goodness, he'd be so sad if he found out Lena was still heartbroken. He'd probably tell her to go back to Charles. Which she desperately wants to do. No, Clint would have already said something. Oh, wait.

What if _Gaia_ found it? Her throat constricts.

"Mum." Gaia's soft voice startles her, and Lena spins round. She pales when she sees the photo Gaia is holding gingerly in her left hand. "It's alright." Gaia says, when she sees the panicked look her mum currently wears.

Lena sits down on the old purple sofa, and holds her hand out for the picture, and gestures for Gaia to sit down next to her. Gaia does so, and looks at her mum uncertainly. Lena takes a deep breath.

"I think it's time I told you about Cuba." She says.

When Lena has finished, Gaia stares at her mother. Her parents saved the world? This is one of the least mind boggling things to get her head around though.

What about the fact that there is a group of mutants, somewhere, who are peacefully trying to stop prejudice? Not to mention that there's another group of mutants, campaigning not so peacefully. To think that her _father_ is leading one of them.

Lena looks curiously at her daughter, trying to gauge what Gaia's reaction will be, when she finally speaks. Then she says what Lena was hoping she wouldn't.

"I have to find him." Gaia says, more to herself than her mum. She's staring out into space, and she repeats the words again under her breath.

"Gaia, please." Lena protests, but her daughter doesn't hear her. She's standing, already making a mental checklist of the stuff she will need to pack. She walks out, her mother's words raised to shouts falling on deaf ears.

Lena watches her daughter's retreating back, then stands up. She needs to talk to Clint.

Clint sits down at the table, holding his mug of coffee tightly. He's as worried as Lena is about Gaia leaving, but not in the same way. Lena, he knows, is scared that Charles will find her and be mad at her for leaving. She's scared that she'll have to face up to her old life, and things she successfully ignored for over twenty years.

Clint is scared of what Gaia will find when she visits her father.

Lena told him what she last saw Charles like, a broken, sad man, and obviously Clint knows Charles mustn't have always been like that, he doesn't know if he's still like that now. He feels sorry for Charles, of course, but his first reaction is to protect his goddaughter, and if she saw her father as Lena left him it might destroy her. She's a sweet girl, and would want to help, but he just doesn't think she would be able to.

But he knows that Gaia is an adult now, officially she can do whatever she wants. He doesn't think Lena has quite got this though. He looks at his friend.

She looks lost and unsettled, and so nervous he thinks she might crack at any minute. There's a certain wildness to the look in her eyes that tells Clint that when, not if, Gaia leaves, he's going to have his work cut out keeping Lena happy.

He would keep Gaia home, but he figures Gaia has to leave at some point, why not now? She's clever, responsible, and capable of looking after herself. He just doesn't think Lena views her like that. In Lena's eyes, Gaia is still a little girl.

Not that Lena is possessive of her daughter, she's just reluctant to let her go. Clint understands that, as he will miss Gaia himself.

He opens his mouth to speak, but Lena beats him to it.

"I know what you're going to say." She says, wiping her eyes slightly. "And you're right. I need to let her go."

"She's not going for ever, you know." Clint replies, and Lena smiles. "No, she's just going on a journey. She will write, I'll make sure of that, don't you worry." He grins sadly. "Make sure she knows you still love her, and that I do, and that she is always welcome back here."

Lena nods.

She hears the patter of Gaia's feet down the stairs, and Clint gives her an encouraging smile. She stands up, and walks into the hall.

Gaia pauses when she sees her mum. She already feels guilty for leaving her, and she doesn't think there's any way she can explain the reason she feels the need to leave so badly. It's not something she can exactly put into words.

Lena speaks first.

"Gaia, I want you to know that we're okay with you going. You're not a little girl any more, and I should have seen it coming. Just a few things." She smiles. "Please write to us. Westchester doesn't have the best signal, I know, but please contact us at least once a week. And know that you are always welcome back here, whatever happens."

Gaia nods slowly, surprised. Lena feels her eyes welling up, and she reaches up and un lips the chain around her neck. She holds it out to Gaia.

"Take it, and wear it. Show it to Charles. He will know who you are."

Gaia wants to say that she'd like her father to recognise her of his own accord, but she stays quiet. She puts the locket on, her fingers running over the flower carved into its silver face. She opens it.

Inside the heart shaped locket are two photos. One is of her father, the other of her godfather. The person she's seeking and one of the people she's leaving behind. She's going to miss them so much. She feels tears prickling her eyes, and she hugs her mother tightly.

"I love you." She says.

"I love you too." Lena chokes out. "Now, go. Go take on the world."


	3. Chapter 3- Welcome to Westchester( 1)

Welcome to Westchester

A/N Hello again! Thanks for reading and please review!

Gaia opens the piece of paper, checking the address for the tenth million time. She's absolutely sure this is the right place, but she was kind of hoping she could just knock on a door. Not press a button on an intercom. This seems too formal, too business like.

She looks up at the sign on her left. _Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters._ A school. A school for mutants.

She wasn't sure what to expect, but a massive mansion wasn't it.

She hums a tune to herself, tapping her hand against her leg quickly as she stares( or rather, glares) at the intercom.

She's actually going to see her father. Her father. A hundred emotions swirl around her head, making her feel a bit dizzy. A strand of ivy reaches out and prevents her from falling.

What will she say? What will she do? How will it work?

Calm, Gaia, she tells herself. There's not point getting yourself worried. That will only end in tears.

She reaches up her left hand, and presses the button for the intercom.

For a moment, she thinks it hasn't worked, and she goes to press it again, but then a female voice crackles out through the mesh.

"Hello, can I help?" The friendly voice asks cheerily.

Gaia takes a deep breath.

"I'm here to see Charles Xavier." She says. There's a pause on the other end of the line. She frowns. "Hello?" She asks, moving closer to the mic in case the woman hadn't heard her.

When the woman speaks again, her voice is very flustered.

"Yes, of course. Can I take your name?" The latter sentence is said very breathlessly.

"Gaiathryn Barton." Gaia says, and she swears she hears the voice sigh, as if she's disappointed.

"Thanks. I'll buzz you through." The voice says sadly.

Gaia hears a click, and the large gates in front of her swing open.

...

Aiysha sits back in her chair once she's opened the gate, and lifts her hands to her face. She lets out a deep breath, then picks up the phone on her right to make two calls.

The first is to the Professor, who picks up after a few rings and tells Aiysha to send to the girl to his office in fifteen minutes. He's currently talking to Scott about a few things. He asks Aiysha to check the reason for the girl's visit.

The second phone call is to Hank, who picks up immediately.

"Hello?" He says.

"Hank, there's a girl coming up the path who sounded exactly like Lena on the intercom."

"What?" Hank replies. He sighs inwardly though. He knew Aoysha had her theories about Lena still being alive, but he's never beleived a single one, no matter how much he wants to believe them.

"Quick, check the CCTV!" Aiysha practically shouts. "She said her name was Barton, but she sounded so much like her..."

Hank pauses. The least he can do is let her down gently. Besides, Alex would be on his back for days if he upset her.

"It's not going to be her, Aiysha." He says sadly. "But the name Barton does ring a bell."

"Please check, Hank." Aiysha pleads. She hears him sigh.

"Fine."

Aiysha waits impatiently whilst Hank gets the right computer program going. Her hopes are raised so high, they are almost touching the clouds. It _has_ to be her. Even if she gave another name, it was surely Lena. Aiysha would never forget her friends voice in a million years. She taps the desk nervously.

She knows Hank doesn't believe her theories, and to be honest, neither does she. But something tells her her friend is alive, so she needs to find some way of convincing everyone else. People like Lena don't just die. They find some way of carrying on, no matter what. Aiysha has seen enough films to know that.

"Holy shit!" Hank exclaims, and Aiysha leaps out her chair in excitement, pressing the phone so hard to her head it hurts. She also leaps out her chair in shock. After 23 ish years of knowing him, she doesn't think she has ever heard Hank swear before. Weird.

"What? Is it her?" She asks quickly.

Hank laughs.

"Well, not quite. It looks a lot like her... Except." He pauses.

"What? Except what?"

Hank swears again. This is a weird day, he thinks.

"Except mixed with Charles."

...

Gaia reaches a large set of doors, and reaches up to knock. But before she does though, the door is thrown open, and a tall guy with glasses and a confused look on his face flings it open, with more strength that Gaia would associate with someone of his build. She raises her eyebrows.

"Super strength?" She asks. The man looks taken aback, but smiles slightly.

"Sort of. And you?" He replies.

In response, Gaia makes a branch of the bush beside the door shoot out, and it shapes a few small branches into a hand to shake the man's.

He laughs, and shakes the tree hand, when then retracts and turns back into a normal branch.

"Interesting. I'm Hank." He says, and Gaia smiles. Her mum mentioned a Hank at some point. "Please come in." He says, and steps aside to let her enter the large room. Gaia's breath catches at the sight of the large hallway, but Hank speaks again. "If you could follow me." He says nervously, and then sets off at a brisk pace, leaving Gaia to jog behind him in an attempt to catch up.

As they wind quickly through the maze of corridors, Gaia spits many teenagers and young adults around her age, and wishes she could stop to talk to them. They must be students here. Oh, God, to be with her own kind.

She hasn't been here even an hour, but it already feels like somewhere she could belong.

Eventually Hank comes to a stop, and pulls a key out his pocket to begin unlocking the door.

"Is Mr Xavier in there?" She asks him, and he looks up and smiles.

"No." He says, and Gaia frowns. "Don't worry," Hank continues, 'A friend of mine and I just want to talk to you briefly."

Gaia frowns again, but then nods and follows him when he goes inside.

She looks around the room. It's a lab, packed with equipment.

On a table a few feet away, a woman sits, and she looks up, an urgent look in her eyes when she hears them enter.

Hank walks over to her, and sits down at a stool next to the woman, and gestures for Gaia to take the stool opposite them.

"So..." Gaia says.

Hank looks at the woman, but she's staring into her mug of coffee.

"So, Gaia. We were just wondering if..." He sighs, and looks at the table. "We were wondering if you know of someone called Eleanor Richards." He glances at her, as does the woman.

Gaia smiles. She should have explained this sooner. They seem pretty wound up about it.

"Yes." She replies, and both their heads shoot up, and she can see that their eyes are alive with hope. "She's my mother."

Aiysha stares at the girl, open mouthed. Lena had a daughter? And she never said anything?

Though, if Hank's theory is correct, then Lena wouldn't have told them because she didn't have one when they met. But that still leaves many unanswered questions.

Aiysha noticed the girl, Gaia's use of "she's". Present tense. Meaning Lena is alive.

But how?

Out of the corner of her eye, Aiysha sees Hank shifting in his seat, preparing to speak again, but she realises she has to speak first.

"My name is Aiysha James." She stops when she sees recognition flare up in Gaia's blue eyes. The blue eyes are distracting, and also scaring her slightly. Every time she looks at her, she sees the original Charles and Lena she met all those years ago, and it's terrifying. Although Charles is different in a good way, she still misses the young and carefree Charles, and now he's here again. Just with Lena as well.

Aiysha doesn't believe in time travel, but if somebody told her right now that a young Lena had come from the past wearing contacts( even though Charles' eyes are one of a kind in their blueness), she thinks she would happily believe them.

"You know me?" She says uncertainly, and the girl grins sheepishly. Like Charles used to. Aiysha shoots a sidelong glance at Hank and gathers from his tensed position that he's seeing it too and finding it equally scary.

"Well, I know of you. Of you both." She says, her British accent pretty strong, but not as strong as Lena's. "I came to find Charles Xavier," the girl continues, "Because he's my father. And I know you know it."

Aiysha laughs then. She smiles, and laughs again.

"Telepath?" She asks happily, still laughing. Gaia grins.

"Of course."


	4. Chapter 4- Welcome to Westchester(2)

Welcome to Westchester (2)

A/N Hi! Thanks for reading, and please review :-)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel!

Aiysha taps her hands on the side of her tea cup. She looks at Gaia, who is obviously nervous about meeting her father. She's biting her lip, and her eyes are darting around the room, focusing on nothing for more than a few seconds. Mind you, Aiysha doesn't blame her. If she was going to meet her father for the first time, she'd be pretty nervous too.

Hank potters about behind them, fiddling with various wires and flicking random switches in an effort to hide his discomfort.

Gaia sighs inwardly, and forces herself not to tap her foot or drum her fingers on the table.

They're waiting from a message from Charles, the Professor, to tell them Gaia can see him.

"Should be ready soon." Aiysha says with a smile, trying to diffuse the tension. Gaia smiles back, and then takes a deep breath in. She should tell them.

"I don't want to tell him I'm his daughter. I want him to recognise me, or work it out." She says, and both Hank and Aiysha look at her in surprise. Then, Aiysha's expression softens into a kind smile.

"Okay." Is what she says, but she's thinking that it's a bit odd. Too late, she remembers Gaia is a telepath.

"It's for my mum's sake." Gaia try to explain. "I don't want anyone to know she's alive unless it's strictly necessary."

She shrugs. "And I suppose there's a little girl who wants her father to recognise her."

She sits up suddenly.

"Oh gosh what do I say?" She lifts her hands to the side of her head, a worried expression on her face.

Hank looks up, and walks over.

"Just say you heard about the school and want to be educated here."

"But I'm twenty two. I'd have left school by now."

"You didn't go to school?" Hank says in surprise. Gaia can hide her mutation, so why didn't she go to school?

Gaia lifts a hand and tugs on a streak of green hair. "Oh, that's part of the mutation as well?" Hank asks. He assumed it was of choice.

"A child of four with green highlights in her hair stands out more than you think, and I wasn't very good at controlling it. So, my godfather and mum decided to keep me home. Not that I didn't get a good education ,though."

"Who taught you?" Hank asks curiously. Gaia grins.

"Sciences by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, History, well one particular section by Steve Rogers, French, Italian and Russian by Natasha Romanov and P.E. by Clint Barton."

Hank laughs.

"That's a great set of teachers."

Aiysha feels a slight nudge at her mind, and hears Charles' voice say

"Can you send the girl through?"

She can sense when telepathic messages are coming through now, after well over twenty years exposure to Telepaths. She doesn't know when she started being able to do that, but when she asked Alex and Hank they could do it too, after she pointed it out to them. They hadn't noticed before. Men. So unobservant sometimes.

Aiysha looks up to Gaia, who she assumes is already aware of her summoning. And by the look her pale face, she is.

Gaia stands up, and so does Aiysha.

"Follow me." Aiysha says, and Gaia nods.

Hank watches them walk out, then raises his hand as if to wave. The door closes, and he sighs. He's so awkward sometimes, it's actually crippling.

Today, the footsteps sound really loud on the floor, Aiysha thinks, as she walks down the maze of corridors towards the office of the Professor. Her footsteps are loud, confident, and she knows what's doing. Behind her, the soft pitted patter of Gaia's Sky blue converse scare her slightly, as the sound is only a soft, quiet sound, contrasting weirdly to Aiysha's boots. It kind of highlights the emotions that are running incredibly highly right now.

Aiysha isn't an empath, but she's pretty good at reading the emotions in people, and this girl's aren't good.

Gaia feels like the nerves used to be little puppies, just scampering about in her stomach, but now they're wolves, large, growls and fighting with one another, snapping their big white teeth and making her wince with every step. She's never felt anything like it before.

Finally, they turn a corner and Aiysha stops.

"Here you are." She says softly. "Go on in."

Gaia pushes open the door.

Charles looks up from the book open on his desk when the door opens. A head pokes round the door, a girl's face. Her body follows, and swishing green and brown hair falls down round her shoulders.

There's something... familiar about her, but Charles can't quite place it.

He smiles warmly.

"Good afternoon." He says kindly.

"Good afternoon." The girl says, somewhat shakily. Well, Charles thinks, she's not really a girl, she must be in her twenties. Being a teacher makes you view people who aren't young as young. For example, he still treats Scott as if he's ten, when he celebrated his 25th birthday last week. Strange.

"Please, have a seat." Charles gestures to a large red armchair in front of his desk. The girl, woman, sits, and places her hands clasped on her knees. "What can I do for you?" Charles asks.

"I..." The woman's voice catches slightly. "I heard about the school, and wondered if I could have a place. I never really got a chance to go to school because of..." She trails off.

"Your mutation?" Charles finishes. She nods. "May I ask what your mutation is?"

She smiles, and something lights up her face. Again, she seems familiar. Charles smiles when he sees the grin. He always prefers it when mutants feel pleased with their mutation, and proud of it. He hates to see people forced to pretend it doesn't exist. Whatever environment this kid grew up in, she must have been encouraged to use it.

"I can control plants." She says, and Charles blinks. He's never heard of that before.

"Can you show me?" He asks, and the pot plant on his desk suddenly reaches out a branch. He watches in awe as leaves grow, then fold open to reveal a flower.

"I'm also a telepath." She adds. Charles looks up, and smiles at her.

"Wonderful." He wheels out from the side of the desk, and he's surprised to see no shock register in her eyes, almost as if she knew. "Charles Xavier." He holds out his hand.

"Gaiathryn Barton." She takes his hand and shakes it.

"Gaiathryn? That's an unusual name." His brain is mainly focusing on the other name though. Barton, he's assuming her father is Clint Barton, Hawkeye. He imagines that's why Gaiathryn was encouraged to use her mutation. His friend Stark always said Barton was a good man. And, of course, had already met a mutant. Charles winces.

"Most people call me Gaia." She smiles, and he nods.

"How old are you?" He asks politely.

"22."

"Well, that's handy. We have a girl of 23 who currently has a single room ,but I don't think she'll mind sharing if you..." He looks at her questioningly.

"No, that would be fine. Great, in fact!"

"Wonderful. Her name is Lorna Dane, and I'm sure Aiysha or Hank will show you where to go."

"Thank you." Gaia says, the grin on her face both put on and genuine. She's crying and screaming inside at the lack of recognition _as his daughter_ but also chuffed that's she staying here, at Westchester, soon to learn everything she possibly can. She gets up, and walks towards the door.

"And Gaia?"

"Yes?" She says, pausing with her hand on the door handle.

"It's lovely to have you here."

Gaia exits the study, but waits until she closes the door to let the tears fall. She cries silently, and like the grin, the tears are for two reasons. Happiness and sadness, at the same time. Weird.

Will looks curiously at the girl who comes out of the Prof's office. She looks about his age, and she pretty. Her hair falls around her face, and he's about to go and say hello when she starts to cry. She cries very softly, the only sound the tears falling on the hard wood floor. She looks down at her trainers, which are bright blue, and she hugs herself, her head bowed.

Will looks around, and sees no one else around. Nobody else there to comfort her. Not that he's doesn't want to, because he doesn't like to see her, or anybody upset, but he's not the best at comforting people.

"Are you alright?" He says. She jumps, and looks around, her tear filled eyes wide. She spots him, leaning against the banister of the stairs and her shoulders tense. "Hey, it's okay."

He takes a few steps closer, and although the tension in her shoulder loosens slightly, she still looks scared and upset. "What is it?" He asks.

"Nothing." She says, and wipes her eyes on her sleeves. Will catches the hint, and decides the change the subject.

"I'm Will Fowl, nice to meet you."

"Gaia Barton. Same." She smiles. He grins.

"Mutation?" He asks.

"I control plants." She shrugs. His eyes widen.

"Awesome!" He says, and then a long leafy tendril taps his shoulder and he spins around. "Wow." He says, and lets out a long whistle.

When he looks back at her, she's grinning, like its a challenge.

"Okay, my turn." He replies. She rolls her eyes, but watches him closely.

Will focuses his attention on the fish-less fish bowl on the side, and all the water jumps out, spinning into an orb. It floats toward them, and Gaia claps.

"Do you know where I could find Lorna Dane?"

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

"Apparently she's my new room mate." Gaia says, and he spots a hint of nerves in her eyes.

"Come on." He says, and grabs her hand. Then he runs off, pulling her behind him. She laughs.

Lorna's sorting out her bathroom cabinet when she hears Will calling. She's mooing all her stuff to the left hand side, the right hand now empty, anticipating the arrival of her new roommate's things. She's been pretty lonely, in her room by herself, so she was really pleased when the message came in from the Professor saying a girl called Gaia was moving in with her.

"Lorna?" Will's voice calls, and Lorna shouts back positively. "I've got your roommate!" He yells happily, and Lorna rushes into the bedroom.

She takes in the girl before her, and has a feeling the girl is doing the same to her.

They both notice something at the same time.

"Hair." They say. Lorna has nearly always stood out with her green hair, and this girl's hair is only a shade darker, although the green is only highlights. Gaia takes in the girl's green hair and smiles. She's not alone. Although, she has to admit, her new roommate does pull off green hair a lot better than she does.

They both grin.

"Gaia." The girl says.

"Lorna."

Will chuckles.

"Well, I'll leave you two now."

Gaia looks over her shoulder at him, and Lorna smiles smugly to herself. Gaia likes Will, she can tell.

Will pauses before leaving.

"Gaia, do you want to get pizza sometime?"

Gaia blinks, and Lorna laughs, rolling her eyes as she does so.

"Now, Will. She's only just got here, don't overwhelm her."

Will winks at Gaia.

"Sorry. See you around."

Gaia smiles shyly.

"It feels so good to be here."

"It's amazing here."


	5. Chapter 5- X-Men

X-Men

A/N Hi!

5 years later

"Gaia, could you at least _pretend_ to look interested in what I'm saying?" Scott sighs, glaring at his fellow X-Man( or woman). Gaia jerks awake from her daydream, and smiles warmly at Scott.

"We need to be steal-" she begins, reciting the last fact she heard of Scott's lecture, but he cuts her off.

"That was yesterday's point, Gaia." He glares at her again, and she blushes apologetically.

"Sorry, Scott." She murmurs, and looks at the floor.

"Okay." Scott surveys the team, all of whom are supported against each other, eye lids drooping. "What happened to you all?"

Gaia stifles a yawn.

"It was a free night, Scott. I went for pizza with Will."

"Did you actually go to Italy?" Scott demands. He knew it was a free night, he'd stayed and watched a movie with Kitty and Bobby. Gaia shakes her head. "Then why were you back so late?" Scott continues grumpily.

Gaia rolls her eyes, but Will speaks before she can.

"It's my fault, Scott, I suggested we should go to that new club on the Wellingborough Road."

Kitty sits forward.

"Was it good?" She asks, ignoring Scott's grumpy complaints.

Will nods repeatedly.

"It was awesome."

Scott glares Kitty, who sits back, raising her hands in the air, and then turns his glare on Will.

"Vines. Tide. 2 laps of the grounds. Go."

Gaia and Will sigh angrily, but both get up and head towards the door.

"We should have seen it," Will says to Gaia loud enough for the others to hear, "Whenever he starts using our code names, we're in trouble."

Gaia nods in agreement, and they head out the doors.

It's Lorna's turn to glare. She turns to Scott.

"Why d'you have to do that?" She asks. Scott frowns at her.

"It's their fault."

"Yes, I know that, Scott." Lorna replies tiredly, "but it was their anniversary last night. Couldn't you have given them a bit of leeway?"

Scott sighs. He'd totally forgotten. Gaia and Will weren't the sort to parade their relationship on flags. Sometimes people barely noticed that they were dating, and thought the reason they were so comfortable with each other was that they were best friends or something. Which they are as well, Scott supposes.

"How many years?" He asks,wincing already, aware of the tidal wave of complaints he's going to get from his teammates. He's right. Kitty shouts "for heaven's sake Scott!" and Bobby just mutters something under his breath.

But Lorna just sighs, and replies.

"5 years."

"Shit!" Scott exclaims, and Lorna laughs slightly. "That's pretty big, isn't it?" Scott asks, but receives no reply.

"2 laps. Go!" The go is shouted by all the members of the team.

Scott sighs then goes out the doors in pursuit of Gaia and Will.

Gaia and Will sit under the large oak tree, hands entwined. Gaia leans back against the cool bark, and Will follows her example.

She closes her eyes.

"This is nice." She says. Will murmurs in agreement. He's almost asleep. They really did get back late last night. The club was really good.

"Gaia? Will?"

The two in question jerk awake suddenly to the sound of Scott's voice. He hasn't seen them yet, but they can see him.

"Ssh." Will whispers, raising his finger to her lips. "Can you thicken the shrubbery slightly?" She nods, and pulls a few branches across,blocking Scott's view of them if he were to turn to his right slightly.

Scott hears the branches rustling, and smiles.

"Gaia!" He yells, and runs towards the branches that moved.

"Go, go, go, go!" Will whisper yells, and he pulls Gaia behind the tree, but she plants her feet in the ground.

"Wait."

A vine of ivy swoops down from the tree above Scott's head, and reaches down and wraps itself around his ankles. He barely has time to mutter a curse word before his feet are swept out from underneath him, jerking him upside down in the air.

Gaia grins, but then turns to Will and sees him banging his head against the tree exasperatedly.

"Why?" He asks, and Gaia frowns. "Now he knows we're here!"

"What now?" Gaia asks. Will glares at her.

"We get back to the others before he does. Gaia, you know how seriously Scott takes the laps. And he actually thinks we do them. Now, we have to pretend we do!"

Gaia rolls her eyes, and folds her arms.

"He doesn't know we're here. How could he?"

Will raises his eyebrows at her.

"Who do I know that can control vines to make them pick people up? Oh, you! Of course he knows we're here, you twit!"

"You're the twit! I _said_ we should have gone down by the lake, but you said he wouldn't come looking for us!"

Just then, a blast of red light hits the bush beside them and burns to a crisp. Gaia winces, she's always been sensitive to the feelings of plants, but Will just swears, and jumps a foot in the air.

"Scott!" He yells. "The Professor said you were never take off your glasses unless it was en emergency!"

Scott laughs wickedly.

"I think hanging upside down from a tree counts as an emergency!" He yells back, and Will turns to Gaia.

"Let him down!"

"But then he'll follow us!" Gaia protests. Will nods to recognise her point, and taps his cheek with his finger, thinking.

"Can you make sure he's still unable to follow us, but too far away to hit us with eye blasts?" He asks.

Gaia grins.

"Consider it done."

Erik eyes Charles carefully, fully aware of the tension building in the room. He also realises he's the only one causing the tension, Charles is smiling away happily whilst he himself sits uncomfortably in an armchair in front of the desk, frowning and feeling very much like a naughty student. He wonders if Charles gets many of those. Many of the children he's seen are too glad to be here, in this sanctuary, to even consider misbehaving.

Erik shifts in his seat, and Charles frowns at him.

"Why are you here, Erik?"

Erik pinches the bridge of his nose. This is a hard topic for him to think about, and it makes his heart hurt everytime he does. Not that he would ever admit it, though. He's not a completely heartless creature; he does care for all mutants, besides from Shaw. Who is dead, so he doesn't count in Erik's recordings of mutants he doesn't care for.

"When Raven( Charles blinks at Erik's use of her original name) killed Bolivar Trask, the people who arrested her used her blood to create Sentinels, robots specifically created to target the mutant population."

Charles sucks in a large breath.

"A spy I have in the company making these... Monsters... Informed me that the programme will begin shortly. A few months, maximum." Erik continues. "They're programmed to hunt and kill mutants. We don't stand a chance."

Charles looks sadly at his old friend.

"Yes, yes we do. I've been training new X-Men, and I'm sure they can defend the school."

Erik feels anger at Charles' naivety flow through him. Why won't Charles understand the threat the Sentinels pose?

"I understand the threat perfectly, Erik." Charles says cooly. "I just think you under estimate my X-Men and their abilities."

"They're well disciplined?" Erik asks, slightly doubting the fact that the answer will be positive.

Charles gives Erik a small smile.

"They are, and would readily give their lives to defend the children in this school." He looks at his hands. "Something which scares me." His gaze drifts off towards a bookshelf.

Erik nods silently, unsure of what to say next. He rises out his chair, and goes over to the window to look out over the grounds. His eyes are drawn to a particular clump of trees, somewhere where the tranquil atmosphere of the gardens are not mirrored.

His eyes widen.

"What the hell?" He exclaims.

Scott yells when the vines binding his feet together jerk upwards, lifting him sky high, above the tree tops. He's flung about, and he opens his eyes, fully aware that his mutation must be hitting things. He hopes he's hitting something near the maniac who is making him fly through the air as though he's on a roller coaster.

"GAIA!" He yells, but she doesn't really hear him. Will doubles over laughing at the sight of their team leader darting through the air, with no ounce of control. He knows they are going to get _so_ told off for his, but it's worth it.

Then a jet of red light hits somewhere not far off its intended target and Will jumps again. He grabs Gaia's hand.

"Come on, let's go."

Gaia nods, grinning, and they run out of the clump of foliage, and out onto the vast lawn. She relaxes her power over the ivy, and she hears Scott fall to the ground with a thump. Pretty soon, she can hear his footsteps behind them, and angry yells.

Will realises an angry Scott is following them almost as soon as Gaia does, and although branches reach out for Scott, Gaia can't quite get the aim right as she's not facing Scott, so he manages to dance out of their reach.

"Head for the pond!" Will whispers to Gaia, and she keeps on running, changing the angle slightly to take his advice. The pond in question is in the middle of the lawn, surrounded by a picket fence to stop any unsuspecting newcomers from falling in.

Will and Gaia reach the pond, and Will drags Gaia round the side of it, putting the water between them and Scott.

Will closes his eyes, and the water rises up in a wall, just in time to deflect a beam of red light.

The two forces meet, and the explosion throws back all three students, soaking them to the skin.

Gaia leans up on her elbows about ten seconds later, and sees the two boys have done the same. Both of them are grinning, and she finds herself doing so.

"Great going, guys." Scott says. "Gaia, your concentration and control is getting better."

Gaia smiles, and brushes her wet hair out her face.

"Will, you need to work on faster control, and making it second nature. You were too delayed in controlling the water." Said water drips off Scott's nose as he says this.

All the anger and stress from only 20 seconds ago has washed away, replaced by friendliness. This happens quite often among the X-Men, who have to fight each other, find weaknesses in the other members and exploit them during practice, but also know how to protect each other, and to protect each other's weaknesses at the same time. They work apart and together.

Gaia tilts her chin up to catch the sun on her face. Will nods at Scott, then Scott laughs, and says, as though he's just worked it out,

"Does nobody take my lap punishments seriously?"

Gaia and Will exchange a glance. Should they tell him?

They don't reply, but the glance is all Scott needs to know.

He groans.

"Looks like I'm going to have to enforce it." He says, grinning, and then Will buries his face in the grass.

"The others aren't going to be pleased." He moans to the grass.

Then they all jump at a sudden voice in their head.

 _They're not the only ones who aren't pleased._ The Professor's voice says grimly. _Come to my office immediately, all three of you._


	6. Chapter 6- Scares

Scares

A/N Hi! Sorry if updates are a little irregular, homework is plentiful supply. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!

Erik sits quietly in the corner of the office, shaking with shock, even if he tries not to let it show.

When he saw the girl and the boy run across the lawn, he thought he was dreaming, hallucinating. It was only the blue eyes which convinced him he wasn't truly dreaming.

When he saw Lena running across the lawn, it took his breath away. God, he hated that girl, but that doesn't mean he can't be shocked when he thinks he sees her alive. Then the girl turned and he saw that it wasn't a ghost back to haunt him, just a creepy mixture of Lena and Charles. A pretty girl, but still, it's creepy to Erik.

Then Charles came over and was furious, like Erik had never seen him. The petty side of Erik did a minute fist pull, because Charles' 'trained' X-Men were messing about, which proved Charles wrong. But the more serious side of him had to sit down, and worry that those kids were the last line of defence for mutant kind. Erik hoped this war with the Sentinels wouldn't get that far.

Erik looks up towards the girl, who has her head bowed and her back to him.

Who is she, and how does she exist?

Erik is aware of the biological reasons she exists, but when would Lena and Charles have had time to have a child? They knew each other for just over six months, and although Erik could tell they were deeply in love, Lena was killed before there was any chance of a child.

Did Charles use Lena's DNA to create a child? That would be unlike Charles, certainly, but not beyond Hank's scientific capabilities.

Erik looks at the X-Men, and the angry Charles. What happened to the care free man he met almost thirty years ago? When did he become so entangled in this level of responsibility and leadership? Though, he supposes, one could ask the same about Erik himself.

Gaia looks at the floor, unable to look the Professor in the eye. She's never seen him this angry, and she wonders why their misbehaving has had this effect on him. Is it something to do with the man sitting in the corner? Or is it something else? Clint once told her that something can just be the last straw that broke the camel's back. So what were the other straws?

Gaia dips into the Professor's mind, in the secret way she taught herself to, in a way that won't trigger any alarms in his mind.

Her throat constricts.

She can't breathe.

Sentinels. Mutant hunting robots. With sights on the school.

She wants to run, far away, from this danger. Somewhere where the Sentinels could never find her.

But all the kids? What will she do? She has to protect them, she knows she must. Breathe Gaia, she thinks. This what you were trained for. She just never thought it was serious. Would she have paid more attention to Scott's lectures, if she'd known it was this serious? Probably. She's not weak, far from it, but now she regrets all those times she spent messing about with Will and Lorna.

She retreats into her own mind, curled up in a corner, but her mind picks up other thoughts. The thoughts of the man in the corner, who knows who she is.

She reads his mind.

His name is Erik Lensherr, also known as Magneto. He knows who she is. And doesn't know that the Professor doesn't know. She remembers her mother mentioning him.

The Professor finishes his rant, and Gaia looks up to see tears in his eyes. Will squeezes her hand. She looks up him, and sees he's just as upset as she is, but for different reasons. He hates letting the Professor down.

She looks across at the man, Erik, who is about to spill the information any minute.

He opens his mouth.

Erik opens his mouth to ask Charles about his daughter, but then a quick glance at the girl in question stops him. Her eyes are wide, and she shakes her head slowly, to not draw any attention from the Professor.

A voice appears in his mind.

 _He doesn't know._

Erik wants to scream with frustration, both at Charles and his daughter. At Charles for being such an idiot for not noticing his own daughter living right under his nose. At his daughter for not telling him.

He feels sorry for the girl, living with her father, but not having him recognise her. That knife must be dug very deep.

The girl winces. Erik glares at her.

Bloody telepaths. He forgot how much he hated them.

Gaia taps her knee, and ignores Will and Scott's attempts to talk to her. Should she go? Should she stay? All these kids, and no one except her and the X-Men to protect them. She's so scared.

And Erik. He's not helping anything, being ere, knowing who she is and all. Gaia has trusted Aiysha, Alex and Hank for years not to tell him, but this Erik she doesn't know. She recognises him from her mother's photographs, and she recognises the name, but her mother never told her much about him.

So many decisions, and she doesn't feel ready to make them.

This must have been how her mother felt when she had to leave.

Her mum.

A mutant.

Sentinels.

"Shit!" Gaia yells, springing up and running towards the door.

She can hear worried shouts behind her, but she's in the same dream like chance she was in after she found out how to find her father.

The familiar hallways pass her, melting into one, and she reaches her room, throwing open the door.

Lorna is sitting on her bed, reading a book, and a relieved look passes over her face when she sees Gaia.

"Gaia, I was so worried!" She says, but then her face falls when she sees the robotic way her friend is moving. "Gaia...?" She asks hesitantly.

Gaia ignores her, and pulls her rucksack off a shelf and starts throwing her basic possessions into it.

"Gaia!" Lorna yells, and the metal hair grip Gaia is wearing jerks upwards, pulling her head. Gaia cries out in pain, and turns to face Lorna. Lorna frowns.

"Lorna. I have to go." Gaia says quickly, and turns back to the rucksack, but the hair grip pulls again.

"Explain." Lorna demands, and folds her arms.

Gaia glares at her. Every second could mean her mother's death.

"MutantkillingrobotsarecomingtoattacktheschoolbuttheymighthavealreadykilledmymumandIneedtofindher!" Gaia yells, but too fast for Lorna to hear. Gaia repeats herself, but with more spaces. Lorna's hands fly to her mouth. "Tell Will and the others where I've gone! And tell them not to worry!" Gaia calls over her shoulder as she rushes out, and no metal restricts her departure.

Lorna chuckles darkly to herself. Will not worry? She'd sooner believe in time travel than Will not worrying about Gaia.

"She's gone?" Will screams, and Lorna winces. "Where?"

Lorna answers his question wincing, then winces again when he swears loudly. "Why didn't she tell me?" He yells.

"Will, she only told me because I forced her." Lorna tries to explain, but she knows it won't really help. and she's right.

Will silences her with a look, and she rolls her eyes.

Scott steps forward, and places a hand on Will's shoulder.

"Hey, Will, calm down." Will huffs, but doesn't say anything, which Scott takes as a signal to continue. "You know Gaia. She wouldn't leave without reason."

Will sits down.

"Yeah, true." He sighs, resting his head on his fist.

Scott smiles at him slightly, and Lorna sits down next to him and takes his hand.

"She'll be fine." She says. "We just need to alert the Professor."

"Okay." Will says, "but he won't be happy."

Scott laughs hollowly, and shakes his head.

"No, no he won't."

Three days later

Gaia runs as fast as she can, sprinting off the bus and down the streets heading towards the house, her heart pounding in her chest. She never got that phrase before now.

Just a few more minutes, she reminds herself, her lungs burning for air. Her legs feels as though they're about to fall off, but she keeps pushing.

She reaches the street, and screams.

Where her house should be, is a blackened shell of a building.

The surrounding houses are empty, their residents gone, so no one is there to hear her scream.

She screams until there is nothing left, and then somehow she screams more.

Her legs carry her to the wreckage, and hot, salty tears fall down her face at the two mangled bodies lying in the rubble.

One is holding a metal bow, melted by the fire, the other has too-long limbs.

Gaia falls to her knees, and then her whole body hits the floor, and she shaking and she can't stop. The agony she feels is unbearable, unlike anything she's ever felt before. It drains her, and leaves her an empty shell.

It's pain and anger and sadness and utter despair. She doesn't know what to do with herself.

She just registers the green branches that wrap themselves around the bodies, and the white roses that grow out the top of the makeshift graves.

She just cries, and screams until her throat is raw and her eyes are puffy.

Then, she just lies there, shaking.

She was too late. Too late to save them.

There's a strange ringing in her ears.

 _Sleep._ She thinks.


	7. Chapter 7- Emergencies

Emergencies

A/N Hello again!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel.

Hank's computer beeps, and Will dives for it. Then his face falls, and he hits a few keys nervously. Hank sucks in a breath; he hates people fiddling with his computer and other equipment. It's only pity that lets Will down here at all. Normally, nobody except himself, Aiysha, Alex and the Professor come in here.

He puts at hand on Will's shoulder, which is shaking, and pulls him away.

"Let me." Hank says kindly, and Will nods, and sinks into a chair on his left. He rests his fist on his arm, and jiggles his legs up and down. Hank smiles slightly, then turns to his computer.

He furrows his brow in concentration. He presses the keys to unlock it, and then logs onto the CCTV feed, which was set to trigger if Gaia's face appeared.

A large blue light pulses in the corner of the screen.

"Yesyesyescomeon." Hank mutters, and Will looks up hopefully. Hank switches the CCTV feed into the screen, and sighs with relief when he sees the small face and bright blue eyes. Will's face is suddenly peering over his shoulder, and Will lets out an even bigger sigh of relief than Hank. He sits back down on the chair and puts his hands over his eyes.

Hank turns and leans against the desk.

"Phew." He says. "She gave us quite a shock there, didn't she?"

Will grins, and laughs slowly.

"She did." He pauses. "Thank you, Hank."

Hank shrugs his shoulders.

"Don't mention it."

Will sits forwards.

"No, seriously. Gaia means the world to me, and you have no idea how grateful I am."

Hank shrugs his shoulders again. He's always been bad at accepting compliments or thanks.

"You should probably go tell the others. They'll be worried." Hank suggests, and Will blows the air out his cheeks, and stands up.

"Good point. See you." He says.

Hank waves goodbye, and Will waves back.

Will jogs up the stairs quickly, heading for the training room, where the other X-Men are training( surprise surprise). Scott let Will have a few hours off to look for Gaia, but after the Professor's brief explanation of the danger they now all face, Scott has doubled training time, and no one has complained.

He throws open the door, and his grin says it all. Lorna closes her eyes, and leans against the wall, relaxing after a week of tense worry. Scott grins at Will, which is weird for the extremely stressed Scott, and then speaks.

"Break, everyone. We should go meet Gaia."

The others sit down, gasping for breath. Will bites his lip.

"She looked pretty broken. Would you guys mind if I talked to her first and then brought her to you?"

They would protest, but they can tell he's not lying. Lorna frowns with worry.

Scott nods, and then turns to the youngest recruit, Will's younger sister Ava.

"Phacade!" He says, and she nods eagerly. "Conjure... Say... The Professor." He grins at her, and she smiles.

Ava screws her face up with concentration, picturing the Headmaster.

Lorna claps when he appears, a realistic looking hologram, on the other side of the room.

"Can you make him speak?" Scott asks hesitantly. Ava frowns, and the Professor's mouth moves slightly. No sound, however, comes out. Her face falls, and she apologises quickly.

Scott smiles.

"No, it's fine, Ava. You're making great progress."

Ava blushes with pride, then sits down next to Lorna. She's so proud to have been accepted into the X-Men. Even though the threat of the Sentinels scares her to bits. The others pretend they're not scared, but Ava can tell they are. She doesn't mention it though, because she doesn't really think they need for it to be pointed out.

Will spins on his heels, and walks out the door.

Gaia is about to knock on the door, when it is flung open by Will. She almost smiles at him.

"How is she?" Will asks. Gaia looks at the floor, feeling fresh tears pool in her eyes. It's been like this for the entire journey back, after she pulled herself together enough to move. Stop crying, travel for a bit, then remember and stifle sobs whilst ignoring the pitying looks of the other people on the bus, train, etc. She's been given so many pack of tissues she can hardly count them anymore.

When Gaia looks down, Will knows the worst. "Oh, Gaia." He says, and pulls her towards him. Gaia throws her arms around him, and sobs into his shoulder. A reassuring hand strokes her hair, and although she's crying she feels calmer than she has done in days.

Will bites back tears of his own. He never met Clint or Lena, but knew how much they meant to Gaia. They raised her, and Gaia's never used negativity and those names in the same sentence.

Will pulls back slightly from Gaia to look at her. He wipes away the tears gently with his thumb, and she blushes.

"You should tell your dad." He says softly. "He'd want to-" he continues, but Gaia shakes her head rapidly.

"No." She says, the first time she's spoken other than ordering food and tickets since she found the burnt house. "No, he can't know. Especially not now."

Will sighs with frustration. He's never understood Gaia's insistence to not tell the Professor who he is to her, and it's especially annoying now that her only other relatives are dead.

Gaia just looks at him.

"I can't." She murmurs, "not when he's got so much else to worry about."

Will kisses her forehead.

"Come on. Lorna's been worried sick about you."

Two days later

The Professor looks sadly at the scared faces of his X-Men. What makes him even sadder than the fact he is probably sending them to their deaths is that they still don't want him to know they are scared, and would gladly give their lives to defend him and the school.

When he imagined X-Men, brave men and women ready to protect mutant kind, it wasn't like this. Not that his X-Men are a let down, they're not. They just weren't meant to do anything this serious. Charles figured the world was always keep ticking along. They weren't meant to be children. Now, he knows most of them are in their twenties, but apart from Gaia, they've lived their whole lives in Westchester. And even though they grew up some ways, they didn't grow up in other respects.

He feels especially guilty about Ava joining 5 years before official joining age. She's only 15, but seems to have already accepted the fact that she would give her life for them. If she were anyone else, she wouldn't be on the team, she'd been down in the nuclear bunker with the other students. But her mutation is essential to the lives of the other X-Men. Using Ava is the only way Charles could think of to keep his best students alive for as long as possible. As long as it takes him to work out how to solve this mess.

"Professor?" Scott asks, waking Charles out of his stupor. Charles forces a smile.

"Yes, Scott?"

"We... Well I was just wondering why you asked us to meet here."

"Ah, yes. Of course you are." His smile fades. "I'm afraid the Sentinel problem has gotten worse. Sources say that they're headed for the school anyday now."

All of the X-Men inhale sharply, apart from Gaia, who Charles assumes read his mind fifteen minutes ago. Or maybe the lack of reaction is because of the weird way she's been acting since she got back from visiting her aunt.

"Hank has moved enough provisions into the bunker to last two months minimum, and all the students are in there as well. In two hours, we will seal the bunker with enough of oxygen for two years, and the students will be looked after by Aiysha, Alex and Hank. We hope that the Sentinels will be unable to detect the students, but we don't know for sure."

"What is our role?" Scott asks, and Charles admires him for accepting the situation and finding out what he can do to help. If only he didn't feel so guilty about it.

"You will lead a false trail away from the school. Hopefully they will believe the school has been abandoned and just follow you."

"That not great news, sir." Scott says truthfully. He doesn't want to leave his brother, and hates the feeling of someone following him. Still, needs must, he supposes.

"No, Scott. But it's the best I have. Other than this. Each of you are incredibly talented, and now it is of the essence that you work together. I don't know what you have to do, but find a way to rely on each other and _stay_ _alive_. I am going with Erik to try and see if there is anyway to shut this program down. I will meet you in three months at the agreed meeting point if I have an answer. Good luck."

Charles puts his head in his hands, unable to hide from the guilt any longer. He can hear their terror, and it echoes around and round in his head.

Gaia sense the Professor's despair, and his guilt. She can also feel the terror of her friends, and knows this is having an effect on her headmaster.

She puts up some barriers around the Professor's mind, so the thoughts just hit them and slide off, not hitting his mind.

Charles smiles at Gaia gratefully and then dismisses the students.

They sit in silence. Even Scott, who's usual method for avoiding things he doesn't want to think about is to talk about something else, is at a loss for words. The desperation was hard to miss, and they didn't have any better ideas of how to stay alive for three months.

Scott sighs, and decides as team leader he's obliged to say something. Anyway, he hates silence, it's almost suffocating.

"Anybody got anything?"

Most of the X-Men look at the floor, but Kitty looks hopefully at Scott.

"I think I might have something." She says quietly.


	8. Chapter 8- Time Travel

Time Travel

A/N Hello again!

Ava hides behind the crates, readying herself to run. She stays focused though, watching the forms of Gaia, Will and the others as they survey the sentinels. Ava takes a deep breath when one of the sentinels moves towards Lorna, a long scaled arm reaching out to grab her. Apparently she's done this over 20 times, but as she remembers nothing it feels like a first time.

The sentinel's arm raises, and swipes down through Lorna, or rather, the hologram of her Ava constructed. The sentinel lets out a growl, then Ava is running for her life. The other holograms flicker out, and the sentinels realise quickly what is going on. They run, hot on Ava's tail.

She flings open the door in front of her, into the room where the real X-Men were camping out. Will's face relaxes when he sees her, but she ignores him, and uses her telekinesis to shut the door.

Without making a sound, they all crouch down behind boxes, waiting.

Ava turns her head slowly to Will?

 _Did Kitty and Lorna get away alright?_ She asks silently. Will nods once, and Ava feels a little bit happier. Then there's a loud bang, and she goes back to being petrified.

The door shakes on it's hinges.

Gaia shuts her eyes, and tries to stop shaking. She's gripping Will's hand so tightly she's probably cutting off the circulation to his fingers, but she's not sure he cares. He's gripping back equally tightly.

The door flies past them, hinges melted and twisted. A large hulking sentinel, peers through, and Gaia could swear it grins nastily when it sense the mutants.

She stands up, and thick vines burst through the concrete, vines she's been summoning through the five storey building for the past few minutes. They won't stop the sentinels, by any stretch of the imagination, but may slow them down a touch. Any extra time she can give Kitty and Lorna is incredibly valuable.

Her position at the moment is slightly peculiar. She knows she is going to die, just as she has before, but she doesn't remember it. She doesn't fear death; she thinks, and hopes.

Her heart beats faster in her chest when the sentinels rips through the vines as though they are cotton candy.

Will turns to her, his face pale. Obviously he was expecting the vines to last longer as well. Gaia gives him an apologetic look, but he just nods solemnly and tightens his grip on her hand.

He smiles sadly at her.

There's a small scream. Will turns his head to see Ava, her eyes wide with surprise, looking down at the claw wrapping itself around her neck. Her hands lift to pull it off, but it tightens, and Ava is lifted off the floor. The sentinel's second hand twists Ava's body, and soon she hangs limp, light faded from her eyes.

Will stands in shock until the sentinel throws the rag doll like body aside, and then he screams, and a wave of water flies out of the bowls he previously stationed around the room. The jets hots the sentinels, with so much force Will almost looks around for another water controlling mutant. He didn't know he had this much power, anger, grief, force, whatever. He continues to scream, and then Gaia pulls on his hand.

There are tears in her eyes, but also a determination and a message to him _to keep going._

He nods again.

Gaia hears another scream, and almost faints at the sight of all the blood. She doesn't want to think about what they have done to Scott. All she sees is red.

She stumbles, bile rising in her throat, and lets go of Will's hand. This is her mistake. Free of Gaia anchoring him to reason, Will bolts across the room towards his sister.

Gaia shrieks at him to stop, but he doesn't hear her. A single vine reaches up to desperately try and hold back the sentinel that would take the life of both brother and sister.

The vine falls to the floor, and all the fight goes out of Gaia's eyes. Everything just drains away. She staggers to her feet, her senses picking up nothing apart from the resounding message that Will is dead. Dead and gone. She walks towards the sentinels on shaky legs, and none of the remaining X-Men try to stop her.

She's in a dream. A last image of Clint and Lena flashes before her eyes before she laughs into the face of the sentinels, then falls to the floor beside Will. Their hands brush. Both are cold.

They vanish.

[][][][][][][]

Charles surveys his X-Men, noting that they all look as tired as he feels. But, they're all alive, if nothing else, and he's incredibly thankful for that. He doesn't think they can go on for much longer though, as they all seem pretty shaken.

"Professor," Scott asks, stepping forward. Charles inclines his head like an owl to show that he's listening. "What do we do now?" Scott shifts from foot to foot, and Lorna puts a hand in his shoulder.

Charles sighs, and gestures for Logan and Erik to come out of the plane. He'd told them to wait there until he had talked to the X-Men.

Erik steps down, trying to cause as little fuss as possible and ignoring the small gasps from the older X-Men. He hears a voice in his head.

 _Hello again, Erik._

Had it been any other time, Erik would have glared at her, probably sworn at her, and muttered 'Bloody telepaths' under his breath. He looks quickly over at Gaia, and is unsurprised to find her watching him. There is a sad smile on her face.

Gaia looks between the two last surviving members of the original X-Men. She heard Moira MacTaggert died when trying to infiltrate the sentinels and shut them down. Clearly some of her old compassion for mutants remained after Charles wiped her memory.

Charles sighs again.

"I suppose, Scott." He says wearily. "We'll have to start with the bad news." He takes a deep breath in. "The mansion was stormed at ten o'clock yesterday morning. There were no survivors." He looks at his shoes.

The gasps of shock and stifled cries from the X-Men echo around his head.

Scott mutters,

"Alex." And looks at the Professor hopefully. Charles can't meet his eyes. He doesn't reprimand Scott when he swears loudly.

Kitty steps forward to stand beside Scott, who has bent double, clutching his head.

"I hope that means there's some good news." She shoves Scott gently in the direction of a chair, and he sits in it, and Lorna crouches down by him. He grabs her hand like it is a lifeline.

Charles nods,despite the bombshell of information he just dropped on the occupants of the room.

"Thank you for your letter of explanation ,Kitty. It made me think of a way we can survive. All of us. We can save every mutant who was killed by sentinels."

Gaia tilts her head, intrigued. Charles continues, "Kitty, we use your time travel skill to send Logan back to 2024. That's when Trask first received approval for his programme and the blood of Raven Darkholme, the shape shifting mutant. She killed him, but she was captured and given to Trask Industries."

Kitty blinks. The enormity of the power she will have to use to send somebody back twenty years; she's not sure she has it.

Charles smiles at her.

"I know you can do it, Kitty."

Kitty nods, but is unconvinced. She looks at the floor.

Logan shrugs his shoulders.

"Well, I suppose we'd better get on with it."

[][][][][][]

Logan lies back on the cold rock, shifting uncomfortably. He's all too aware of how nervous Kitty is; crouched by his head. He hears her place her hands either side of his head.

"So what do I need to do?" Logan asks. He figures he needs some sort of plan, otherwise things could end up worse than they are. Not that he can picture anything worse than the world right now, but for once he'd prefer to stay on the safe side.

"Find myself and Erik. Convince us of your purpose. It may be difficult, but I'm certain you can persist." Charles sighs. "I was a very different man back then Logan. So was Erik. Don't judge me on the man I was."

Logan thinks this is a little strange, but nods at him to continue. He's always pictured the Professor as always being as he is. Will he be shocked by the younger Professor?

"Then find Raven. She must not be allowed any where near Trask, you understand? They cannot have her blood."

Logan nods, slightly worried by the almost angry tone in Charles' voice. Then he hears another voice.

Gaia steps forward, deciding this is the right moment.

"Find Eleanor Richards." She says, talking directly to Logan, kind of in the hope that Charles might not listen, but of course, he does.

Charles stares at Gaia. No, he decides, Gaia must have just her timing wrong. He wheels his chair forwards.

"Gaia, Eleanor Richards died in 2015."

Gaia lifts her chin up, and stares at him cooly. She shakes her head slightly, offering no explanation, and turns back to Logan.

"You'll find her at this address ( she sends a message to his mind), and she'll be hard to persuade, but I'm sure you can do it. Tell her Gaia sends her love."

Logan shifts slightly.

"How d'you know this, kid?" He asks. Gaia glares at him; she was hoping he wouldn't ask.

"I knew her." She says quietly. Logan takes the hint, and shuts up.

Charles continues staring into space. Lena was _alive?_ But how? Why?

Questions and thoughts whizz round his head like moths, all attracted to the light that is this new idea, but confused as to what to do with it.

Erik nods to Kitty, and her hands light up.

"Good luck, Logan." Gaia says. He gives her a small thumbs up, and she smiles.

"Argh!" Logan yells, then he falls asleep.

Silence drops like a blanket onto the occupants of the room.

Charles looks up at Gaia curiously.

"What do you mean, you knew Eleanor Richards?"


	9. Chapter 9- Icy Welcomes

Icy welcomes

A/N Hello again! Thanks for reading :-)

Logan knocks on the door of the mansion, convinced this day could not get any weirder. He woke up, in 2024, listening to a song he hadn't heard for twenty odd years ( and for good reason), then had to take out a few weirdos and steal a car.

And now he's turned up at the school, only to find it looking completely abandoned, the grass growing up to his knees and thin trails of ivy winding around everything.

He hears the knock echo with in the mansion, and for a moment he's not sure if it's got any occupants at all. Logan knocks again, louder this time, and stares out into the grounds.

He hears a voice mutter,

"I'm coming, I'm coming." and then the door is flung open. Logan grins the nerdy looks guy in the doorway.

"Are you the Professor?" He asks, then pushes past him and into the large hallway, surveying the room. "Man, you said you would be different, but I didn't imagine you _this_ different.

Hank frowns at the visitor.

"No, sir. I'm not the Professor."

Logan turns to look at him, then nods, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Who are you then?" He asks, not unkindly.

"Hank McCoy. Can I ask who you are?"

Logan grins.

"Ah, Beast. Should have recognised ya." Hank blushes. "I'm Logan."

"Well, Logan," Hank says, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice as he puts emphasis on _Logan. "_ What can I do for you? If you're a parent, I'm afraid the school has been shut for years."

"No, I'm not a parent."

Hank glares at him, then turns to another voice.

"Hank? Who is it?" It's a female voice, and the source walks from a room on Logan's left. She smiles at Hank, and then comes over to Logan.

"Can we help you?"

"I'm assuming you aren't the Professor either." Logan winks at her. She blushes scarlet.

"No. I'm.."

Logan cuts her off.

"Oh, I remember you! Aiysha Summers? Nice to meet you." Logan holds out a hand, which the girl shakes, although she gives him a funny look. Logan blinks, then refers to a mental calendar. "Oh, crap, you're not married yet are you? Sorry."

Aiysha and Hank look at each other.

Hank walks over to stands beside Aiysha.

"Would you mind explaining to us what the hell is going on?" Hank asks.

[][][][][][]

"So you're from the future?" Hank asks. Logan nods, and Hank looks at him sceptically. Logan doesn't blame him. If some dude turned up at his door saying he was from the future, Logan would probably call the police.

"And we're threatened in the future?" Hank asks. Logan nods again. Hank turns to look at Aiysha. "Do you mind?" He asks, a strained look on his face. Aiysha nods, swallowing nervously. She closes her eyes.

Logan frowns.

"What is she doing?"

"Ssh." Hank says, staring at Aiysha. Thirty seconds later, Aiysha screams and opens her eyes. Hank swears under his breath, and jumps up to hug her. Her eyes dart everywhere, then fix on Hank and she screams again but hugs him tightly, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Oh god Hank, Hank, we were..." She trails off and sobs into his shoulder. Logan watches them with a certain awkwardness.

"Are you alright?" He asks cautiously. Aiysha looks up at him, and smiles sadly.

"Yes and no." Hank shoots her a questioning look, and she smiles reassuringly at him, although she still looks like she's in pain. She sits down, and her shoulders relax slightly when she sinks into the sofa.

She looks like she's about to tell him something, but she just looks at her hands, clasped in her lap.

Logan sits forward.

"Would you mind telling me what you just did?"

Aiysha laughs.

"Oh of course. Sorry." She apologises. "I've been around people who know for so long, I've forgotten. I saw the future. To check if you were telling the truth. The Professor trained me to search for certain things."

"You saw what they do to us then?"

Aiysha flinches, and Hank puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes." She says. "It's horrible."

Logan nods, even though he obviously already knew this. Hank looks at Aiysha, and how much she is shaking.

"We'll help. Whatever we can do to stop this future, we'll do it." Aiysha nods, agreeing with him.

Logan smiles at them.

"That's great guys, but I really need to talk to the Professor."

They exchange a glance, and Logan frowns. "What? Is he not here?"

Hank groans.

"No, it's not that." He bits his lip, and looks at the ceiling. Logan feels a sharp jab of insecurity hit him.

"Hank? Who are you talking to?" A British voice Logan recognises calls. He jumps up, and Hank springs in front of him.

"No. Let me deal with him first." He says quietly, and there's a snarl creeping into his voice. Logan almost lets him, but then he hears the Professor again, and a sense of urgency pushes him forwards, throwing Hank out the way. He hears snarling behind him, but takes no notice as he walks briskly back to the entrance hall.

Now, he heard footsteps. Stairs are... Left! He looks left, and upwards, and reels backwards in shock.

Standing on the stairs is a man Logan recognises by his bright blue eyes as the Professor, but even that resemblance is weak. These eyes are overcast, as though clouds are blocking our he sun which usually shines on him. The hair on his head is long, messy and knotted, and Logan can smell him from here. He's dressed... Not smartly, and Logan blinks again and again, convinced his eyes must be tricking him.

Then he remembers what the Professor said about him being different.

 _Shit,_ Logan thinks. _Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out._

Then something hits him from the side, a flash of blue, and Logan bangs his head, and it all turns black.

[][][][][]

Charles surveys the unconscious man on his sofa with a look of extreme disgust. Aiysha and Hank haven't explained why he's there, and Charles knows that they aren't telling him something. Even without his telepathic powers, he can see the way they whisper nervously, and the way their eyes dart between each other, the man and Charles himself.

He feels pleased with the way some of his first students have turned out. Hank, Aiysha and Alex are all great, and there is such a good bond between them. Aiysha and Alex have been dating for years, and there's the beautiful brother-sister relationship of Aiysha and Hank. Charles feels his heart swelling when he thinks about it like that.

Then, the part of his mind that has controlled him for almost five years speaks up again. He remembers them.

Sean.

Moira.

Erik.

Raven.

Lena.

Even Angel, Azazel and Riptide to some degrees.

This is when he wants to run away from everyone, even kind people like the two in front of him tat want with all their hearts to help, because he believes he's beyond help. The best he can do is keep the suffering within him, and make sure it doesn't spread to the others.

That's what he tells himself everytime he drinks, everytime he stops the pain in his back and numbs his mind beyond all measures. He's got used to being without his powers, but he still misses them on occasions.

Like now, when he has no effing idea what is going on.

Suddenly, the man wakes up, gasping for breath, and Charles jumps. Liquid spills out his glass and onto his clothes, and he fixes a frown to his face and drinks from the glass grumpily, ignoring the stare of the man. He saunters to the desk, trying to look confident, and sits down on the swivel chair.

The man sits up on his elbows.

"What just happened?" He asks incredulously. Hank blushes, and then turns to Charles.

"Professor, this is Logan."

"I honestly couldn't care less." Charles snaps, and part of him flinches when Hank flinches. But this is all part of his plan. If they leave him alone, they can't be upset by him. But it's just not working. They keep coming back, and he keeps hurting them over and over.

"Charles." The man says, and Charles stares at him.

"How do you know who I am?" He asks softly.

"It doesn't matter. I need your help."

"And why would I help you?" Charles asks, feeling for all the world like a complete jerk.

"Because I need your help to save mutant kind."

Charles pauses. He studies the man's face carefully. No, he's really is desperate. He doesn't believe he's lying. Maybe Charles should help. He looks towards Hank and Aiysha, and sees what he most fears painted all over their faces. They're pleading with him.

Anger surges through Charles. How _dare_ this man come into his home, corrupt his staff, and then try the same thing on him. He rises, his legs shaking.

"Mutant kind doesn't need protecting. It's got Erik and his terrorists for that."

"We'll need him as well. I was sent to find you, Erik Lensherr, and somebody else."

Charles' lips curls. He doesn't want to hear anymore of this crap. He's about to tell the man so, when he stops in his tracks. "Eleanor Richards. I had to find Eleanor Richards."

Charles spins, and holds up a finger to point at the man.

"Eleanor Richards is dead." He snarls. "She has been for eight years." He feels tears prickling his eyes. "She is dead! She's buried at the bottom of my garden!" He roars, more to himself than anybody else. If she was alive, he doesn't know what he'd do. How could he explain what he's done to her? Her, who always believed he was perfect.

Logan doesn't break eye contact with him.

"No, Charles. She's very much alive. A girl told me to find her at this address." Logan pulls pen and paper at his pocket, and scribbles down an address. He holds it out for Charles.

Charles snatches it from him, and snarls at the piece of paper.

"Barton." He says, and storms off.


	10. Chapter 10- Answers

Answers

A/N Hello!

Charles stares out the window as they drive along the seemingly never ending road. Hank is driving, and Aiysha called shotgun, so he's stuck in the back of the tiny car with Logan. He glares at nothing in particular, and shifts grumpily in his seat.

It is pretty much silent in the car, apart from Aiysha giving Hank directions every now and then. This is their third day of driving, and they ran out of things to say halfway through day one.

The elephant in the room, or rather, in he car, is something that's no one has mentioned, even though Charles knows they're all aware of it, even Logan.

If she was still alive, why did she leave?

It mostly angers Charles, more than anything else. He feels betrayed by her. She left him when he needed her the most.

They're almost there now, and Charles still hasn't worked out what he is going to say. But he does need to work it out pretty quickly. He's worked out a lot of things he could say, it's just deciding on which ones and in what order. After all, he can't factor in what she'll say, or how that will make him feel. If he's honest, he has no idea what he'll feel when, if, faced with her.

Will he be angry? Let down? Or will he feel how he used to feel, overwhelmed with love and hope?

He doesn't know which feeling he'd prefer.

"Turn left." Aiysha tells Hank, and the car swerves round a corner, pulling into a street lined with houses. Hank parks, and then lets out a deep breath.

"Here we go." He says, and then gets out of the car.

Aiysha stays in her seat.

"I'm staying here." She says. Hank looks at her. "I don't want to get my hopes up." She explains, folding her arms.

[][][][][][][]

Clint and Gaia are sitting in the living room at the back of the house when the doorbell rings. Clint blinks in surprise. He isn't expecting Lena back for another half and hour or so, and anyway, she has her own keys.

"Da, shall I get it?" Gaia asks, looking up from her workbook.

"No, don't worry." Clint tells her, standing up. "Stay there." She gives him a curious look, but then continues sketching the diagram.

Clint walks slowly through the hall, spy instinct kicking in, shutting the door to the lounge where Gaia sits. The doorbell rings again, and Clint hears muttered voices outside. He opens a drawer in the dresser, pulls out a gun, and slides it into the holster at his waist.

He pulls open the door, and three men look at him in surprise.

The scruffy one steps forward.

"I'm Charles Xavier." He says. "We're looking for-"

Clint cuts him off.

"You're Charles Xavier?" He asks, flexing the fingers of his left fist.

"Yes." The man replies, an irritated hint creeping into his voice. "As I was saying-"

Clint punches him.

[][][][][]

Hank and Logan jump back in surprise when the man punches Charles. Charles falls backwards, and Hank catches him, then looks up at the man, who looks only slightly apologetic at his loss of control.

"Sorry." He says. "Come in." He steps aside, and allows Hank, Logan, and Charles, who is nursing his cheek, through into the hallway.

Clint hopes Lena gets delayed, and that Gaia doesn't need any help with her chemistry homework.

He points to the kitchen table, and they all sit down, and Clint sits opposite them.

He pulls the gun out of its holster, and points it at Charles' head.

"What the fu-" Charles protests, but Clint gives him a look.

"I want you to prove you are Charles Xavier."

"I didn't bring my passport."

"No, not like that. That can be faked. Tell me something about Eleanor Richards, as I assume that's who you are looking for, that only she could tell you."

Charles searches his mind.

"I gave her a locket. It has lilies engraved on it. It is silver, in the shape of a heart, and there is a picture of her and myself inside."

Clint smiles sadly, and then puts the gun down on the table.

"She still wears it, you know." He tells Charles. Charles stares at the man, and doesn't know whether to be relieved or confused.

"So she's still alive, then?" He asks Clint.

"Took you long enough to notice." Clint says, standing up and pacing slightly. "Why have you suddenly come looking for her?"

"That's none of your business." Charles says pompously, but Clint slams both palms on the table in front of Charles.

"I've looked after her since you cast her out, Xavier. I have every right to know what you want with her."

Charles doesn't break his gaze.

"I want answers." Charles snaps. "As to why she left me."

Clint laughs.

"You'd better not phrase it like that. She'll get really mad."

At that moment, the front door opens, and Charles hears a voice he'd thought he'd never hear again. Oh god. He isn't ready for this. He should have had a drink. He's not ready for this!

"Clint? They ran out of red peppers so I had to get yellow instead." The voice gets louder, and Charles hears footsteps coming down the hall. He begins to panic.

"That's fine." Clint calls back, and then the door opens to the kitchen.

"Charles?" The person in the doorway says.

"Oh my god." Charles whispers, and stands up. "Lena..." He shouldn't have worried about being angry. He never stopped loving her, not for a single second. "Why is your hair blonde?"

Lena laughs, and pulls off the wig. She doesn't feel any anger at seeing Charles, just a sense of relief. She's doesn't want to know how he found her, just knows he's here and that all that matters. He needs a haircut though...

"Sorry. I have to wear it in public, being dead and all."

 _Being dead_.

Charles stops suddenly, and feels the anger flowing back. He tries to stop it, but it engulfs him like a wave. Words fly out his mouth, words he wishes he could take back as soon as he says them.

"You were dead. You were dead. You left me. You lied to me."

Charles sees the hurt pooling in Lena's eyes, and she steps backwards. He hears Hank's voice telling him to stop, and he tries to, but eight years worth of misery is too strong.

"Charles, I-" no, actually she's not pleased to see him.

"Shut up." Charles snaps. "You left me alone, for eight years. Why? Why did you do that?"

Lena glares at him, and goes over the cupboard and starts unpacking the shopping. Even if she wants to throw the shopping at his head.

"Maybe I had my reasons." She says, turning her back on him and putting a packet of rice on the shelves.

"Reasons? Reasons more important than what we had? I loved you Lena, and you made me think you felt the same."

"I did!" Lena yells, spinning round. "I-" she stops yelling when she sees the little girl in the doorway.

"Mummy," the girl says, "can you help me with my homework?"

[][][][]

All the occupants of the room go silent and stare at Gaia, who freezes in shock at the amount of people. Hank cleans his glasses, just to see if they're deceiving him, and then puts them back on again, frowning when there is no change in what he sees.

"Oh my god." Hank mutters.

"Hank." Lena says, and he looks up at her. "Gaia's stuck on her chemistry. Could you help her?"

Hank senses it's not really a question, and he smiles slightly at her. She smiles grimly back.

"Come on, Logan." He says, and both men get up. Clint picks up the girl, and walks down the corridor, and Logan and Hank follow him. Hank shuts the door. He doesn't want the girl to hear her parents arguing.

The girl looks nervously at him, so he smiles at her.

"I'm Hank." He says, sitting down on the floor beside her and offering out his hand. She takes it, smiling.

"Gaiathryn. But you can call me Gaia."

"So what are you stuck on?" Hank asks, and Gaia pulls a book and pencil towards her. She shows him a diagram, and Hank's eyes widen.

"Gaia, how old are you?" Hank asks.

"Eight." Gaia says proudly.

"But this is high school level chemistry."

"Uncle Bruce said I was good enough to take it early. I don't go to school."

Uncle Bruce? Hank looks at Clint. _Clint Barton._ Bruce _Banner?_

"That's right." Gaia says, smiling at him. He blinks in surprise, and her face turns to shock. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forget people aren't used to it." She blushes.

Hank smiles at her, and shakes his head.

"No, don't worry. I was used to it at one point."

Gaia frowns.

"Did you know Mummy?"

"Yes, I did."

"Sorry, but are you a mutant?" Gaia asks curiously.

"Yes. I turn blue and furry."

Gaia's eyes light up in delight.

"Awesome!" She exclaims.

"I'm glad you think so."

"How could I not?" Gaia asks, giving him a puzzled look.

Hank decides to change the subject.

"Is your only mutation that you are a telepath?"

Gaia shakes her head.

"The flowers and plants talk to me. I can control them."

She points out to the garden, and Hank laughs. The garden is a wonderful array of plants, twisted into strange and wacky shapes.

"That's awesome."

"Thanks." Gaia says, then they both jump at the sound of something smashing. Clint jumps up, and Gaia looks at him, her blue eyes wide.

Clint walks out the door, and Gaia turns her gaze to Hank, who flinches slightly. The resemblance to one of his oldest friends scares him.

"Why are Mummy and Mr Xavier fighting?" She asks innocently. Hank makes a mental note to never underestimate the ability children have to sense what is going on. Also, Hank assumes Gaia's telepathic abilities help as well.

He sighs.

"Just a simple misunderstanding."

Gaia frowns. Then shrugs.

"I still don't get this diagram."

A/N thanks for reading and please review :-)


	11. Chapter 11- Forgiveness

Forgiveness

A/N hello! By the way, the song lyrics in this chapter is from 'Sovereign Light Cafe' by Keane. I sort of based this chapter around it, so if you want you can listen to it while reading this, feel free :-)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel ( and a bit belongs to Keane).

Lena stares at the door for at least ten seconds after it has closed before she turns away. She saw a flash of emotion in Charles' eyes, hurt, sadness and anger all at once, and she doesn't want to face it.

She calmly picks up a packet of digestives and puts it into the cupboard to her right, mentally shouting the lyrics to 'Sovereign Light Cafe'.

 _We were friends and lovers and clueless clowns._

Oh, the irony. A song that sums their relationship up.

She continues rearranging stuff in cupboards, not daring to say anything in case Charles snaps. Or she snaps. It's been so long. She doesn't know how to act around him anymore.

 _I_ _didn't_ _know I was finding out how I'd be torn from you, when we talked about things we were gonna do._

Charles takes deep breaths in and out, and closes his eyes. But the image of the little girl is burned onto his eyelids, blue jumping out at him.

Such a pretty little girl. His daughter. How does he even begin to compute that?

The Charles that first greeted Lena plans what to say, how to make it up to her.

But during this Charles' indecision, other Charles steamrollers on and spits venom at her.

"That was why you left?" He shouts. Lena doesn't turn around, stays facing the cupboard.

Ignore him. Ignore him.

"How dare you!" He yells, and Lena feels her self control slipping away.

"How dare I? How dare I what? How dare I look after a child?"

"You took her from me! I could have helped!"

"No, you couldn't have done! You were young, and foolish." Lena snaps, picking up a packet of eggs.

"You selfish b-!" Charles hears himself say, and then something smashes into his face. It really hurts, and sharp things poke and prod him. Egg shell?

Egg yolk drips down him, and he picks eggshell out of his hair.

"Charles, you utter _bastard."_ Lena turns to face him, shaking with rage. She's so done with him, although a little annoyed about the eggs. She was going to make omelettes. "When I loved you, we were young, we didn't know any better. I had to grow up very fast, and I could see you couldn't do that."

"I'd just lost my legs, my sister and my best friend! I could have done without losing you as well!"

 _Don't turn your back on me, don't walk away._

Lena admits that this is a fair point, but doesn't want to tell him so.

"I thought I had no other option. I didn't know how you would have reacted." She says calmly.

He gives her a look, big blue puppy dog eyes wide.

"I would have loved to have loved you. To have loved a little girl."

Lena doesn't reply, and Charles looks at the floor. An awkward silence settles between them.

Charles looks at the egg dripping off his hair and shirt, then looks up at Lena. Her eyes are brimming with tears, and she's shaking.

He feels a deep pang of sadness and regret.

"Oh, Lena." He breathes. He opens his arms to hug her, and she flings her arms around his neck, pressing her face into his shoulder. Charles hugs her back equally tightly, trying to make her feel how sorry he is, and how much he wants to make it up to her. He never wants to let go.

"I'm sorry." He whispers into her hair. "I'm sorry."

A door opens, and Lena pulls back from him so their faces are only centimetres apart, then turns her head to face the door.

"You alright?" Charles hears Clint ask. Lena nods, and the door shuts. She turns back to face him. She picks a piece of eggshell out of his hair, and pulls a face.

"Your hair is disgusting, Charles." She tells him grumpily.

"You were the one who threw egg in it." He points out, and she glares at him.

"The egg is an improvement." She mutters, pulling away and walking towards a cupboard. She pulls out a dustpan and brush, and tosses them to him. He opens his mouth to complain, but she points a finger at him.

"Hey. You owe me at least two years of nappy changing. Clean."

[][][]

Charles sweeps up the shards of egg shell, listening to Lena humming as she unpacks the rest of the shopping. He sits back on his heels, and looks up at her.

"What is she called?" He asks softly. Lena pauses.

"Gaiathryn." She replies. Charles smiles.

"After the lady who helped you?"

Surprised, she turns to face him.

"You remember?" She asks hopefully.

"Of course I do." He smiles at her, and she blushes.

"Would you like me to go get her?"

Charles shakes his head.

"No. Not today."

She gives him a curious look. "Not when I look like this. Let me become someone else first."

He stands up, and walks towards her and takes her hands. The lyrics of a song he used to listen to with Lena dive round and round in his head.

 _I'm begging you for a sign you've still got nothing to say, don't turn your back on me, don't walk away. I'm a better man than I was back then._

"I'm going to do whatever I can to make it up to you, Lena. I'll become the father I need to be. And I won't let myself meet my daughter until I am him."

Lena nods.

"Change quickly." She whispers.


	12. Chapter 12- Reunions

Reunions

A/N hello :-) Hope everyone had a nice week! Thanks for reading!

Charles shuts the door behind him, although he wants to throw it open again, and run back into the house to see his daughter. Gaiathryn. Such a pretty name.

But he walks away, following Hank and Logan, focusing his eyes on the green car. Hank unlocks it, and the three of the, get in, not saying a word.

Aiysha barrages the them with questions, but all three of them stay silent, even when she yells at Hank that if he doesn't let her out to see Lena she will kill him. He ignores her, until he turns the car out of the town and onto the motorway.

"Sorry." He says to Aiysha. "I had to concentrate on getting to this road."

She glares at him.

"I wanted to see her." She snaps, turning away grumpily to look out the window.

"She's coming in a few days. She just needs to get ready."

Aiysha replies with only a 'huh'.

Ten minutes later though, her curiosity obviously cannot be stopped.

"Was she alright?" She asks, and Hank grins at her as if to say 'ha', and she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Yes, she was fine." Hank replies. "Charles.. Do you want to tell her?" He turns his head slightly to look at Charles. Charles nods, then rests his head on his chin, thinking of the words.

Aiysha swivels around quickly to look at Charles, a happy gleam in her eyes.

"Tell me what?"

Charles grins, then sits back, his smile fading.

"Lena... She had a girl with her."

Aiysha claps a hand to her mouth.

"Oh my god." She murmurs.

"My daughter." Charles says, nodding his head.

Aiysha feels tears prick her eyes.

"Charles... Congratulations. That's great news."

Charles feels a bitter twang in his heart.

"Not really, though, is it? She had to deal with that, by herself." He feels himself crying.

Aiysha smiles at the change in him. She can see the old Charles coming back, and she's glad. She's absolutely sick of the drunk rude one. She reaches over and pats his shoulder.

"You didn't know."

Logan sits forward.

"Sorry, but would anyone like to tell me why the hell that kid is your daughter? And not the biological reasons, weirdos." He grimaces.

Aiysha rolls her eyes.

"Charles and Lena were totally in love, then Lena died, or we thought she did, so obviously she came here. Keep up."

"But why did she fake her own death?" Logan asks, still pretty confused.

"I don't know. We'll have to ask her when I _finally_ get to see her." She glares at Hank, who laughs. "Oh, and that reminds me. Hank, you owe me twenty bucks."

Hank groans.

"I thought you'd forgotten."

"Never."

"But we made that bet 6 years ago."

"I don't care. Pay up, McCoy."

Hank pulls a face and a note out his pocket, which he hands to Aiysha, who grins smugly.

"Thank you."

Logan gives Charles a look.

"What did they bet on?"

Charles shrugs.

"No idea."

Logan directs the question at the pair in the front of the car. They laugh, then glance at each other.

Hank blushes and doesn't say a word, but Aiysha turns happily to Logan.

"That when we found Lena, the professor would realise what a twat he's been since she left, and suddenly want to change because he's still hopelessly in love with her." She grins, then starts fiddling with the radio stations, turning up the Taylor Swift currently playing and signing along to drown out Charles' protests.

[][][][]

The doorbell rings, and Aiysha flies out the living room.

"Aiysha, it might not be her. I'm getting my new computer delivered today." Hank calls after her, but Aisyah continues sprinting into the hall. She flings open the door, and hugs the person on the other side.

"I'm so glad you've come at last." She pulls back, then blushes scarlet when the scared and surprised delivery man looks back at her.

"I didn't realise you were expecting the delivery earlier. Sorry, Dr McCoy." He hands her a box. "Here you go."

Aiysha blushes, and takes the box.

"Sorry. And thanks."

She returns into the house,shutting the door behind her, then groans loudly. Hank, failing not to laugh, takes the computer from her, then starts heaving with laughter, tears streaming down his face.

Aiysha flops onto the floor, lying on her stomach.

"So embarrassing." She groans, banging her head on the floor repeatedly. Hank continues to cackle, drawing the attention of Charles, who pokes his head over the bannister.

"What happened?" He asks with a grin. Hank tries to control his laughter, and shouts up,

"Aiysha just hugged the delivery man." He splutters, then roars again. Charles chuckles.

"You alright?" He asks the girl still groaning on the floor.

"No." Aiysha replies. "Excuse me whilst I go die in a corner of embarrassment."

She sticks her hands in front of her, and pulls herself across the floor.

Charles waves.

"Bye."

[][][][]

The doorbell rings, and Aiysha jumps up, then folds her arms and turns to Hank.

"You answer it." She tells him, and he gets up with a sigh, trying not to laugh at the renewed memory.

Aiysha follows Hank into the hall, and stands behind him. She's actually shaking with nerves.

"You alright?" Hank asks, and she grins nervously back at him. She nods.

Hank opens the door, and is promptly shoved out the way as soon as Aiysha spots Lena.

She flies like a bullet out the door, hugging her friend. She starts to cry when she feels her friend hug her back.

Lena feels herself crying as well, shaking and hugging her friend. It's been so long, and she never realised how much she missed her.

"Aiysha." Lena says. "How have you been?" She feels as though she should stay something more substantial, more meaningful, or an apology, but she just can't get th words out.

"Just fine." Aiysha laughs. "You?"

"I'm good." Lena chokes up. "Oh god, I've missed you so much."

Aiysha smiles, tears streaming down her face.

"I've missed you too."

"I'm so sorry for leaving. You have to understand-"

"Hey. I'm sure you had your reasons. Explain later, okay?" She smiles at her. Lena feels a balloon of gratitude well up inside her. Her understanding means so much.

Lena nods, too overwhelmed with, well, everything, to say another word.. Aiysha pulls her into the hall.

"Charles!" She yells.

"Yeah?" The reply comes.

"Lena's here."

"Good. Is the picnic ready?" Charles' voice asks.

"Yes."

"See you in ten minutes."

[][][][]

Charles sets down the basket, and Aiysha unfolds the picnic rug, laying it out the grass and smoothing all the wrinkles. Lena laughs, and Logan shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Why are we having a picnic?" Lena asks.

"Because the house stinks and it's messy and ugh." Aiysha says cheerfully, earning a disapproving glare from Charles. "What? It does."

Lena laughs.

"Charles?" She asks.

"I like picnics." He says grumpily, sitting down and glaring at Aiysha again. Lena suppresses giggles. He looks like a stroppy toddler. He reminds her of Gaia, blue eyes flashing with upset like that.

Aiysha sits down and chucks Charles a packet of sandwiches.

"Lighten up." She trills, and he can't help but smiling slightly.

Lena frowns at the lawn.

"Charles, you need to mow the grass."

Charles blushes, and hunches his shoulders sheepishly.

"Sorry. I was going to do it last week, but I forgot." He murmurs, looking at the rugs.

Aiysha sneezes.

Hank frowns.

"Hay fever?" He asks sympathetically.

"No." Aiysha says, sneezing again. "I'm just allergic to bullshit."

She keeps a straight face even through Lena and Hank's roars of laughter, and Charles' death stares.

[][][][][]

Logan folds up the cling film awardkly, only too aware of the peaceful atmosphere he has to smash.

"So, we need to find Erik Lensherr."

They all nod solemnly. They'd kind of forgotten the reason they were assembled, and that they had to save the world.

"He's somewhere difficult to get into." Charles says, and Logan frowns. "He's in the Pentagon."

"Bloody hell." Logan says. "You would've thought they'd mention that." He mutters under his breath.

"So..." Aiysha blows all the air out her cheeks. "How are we going to do it?"

Logan sighs.

"I know a guy who can help."

"Good. We'll find him as soon as possible." Charles nods.


	13. Chapter 13- Catching Up

Catching up

A/N Hello :-) thanks to everyone who followed, favourited, or reviewed last chapter, it means a lot!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel!

"You sure you don't want to come?" Charles asks hopefully, leaning out the window of the car.

Lena nods, and smiles at him.

"We're sure." She replies, and Charles nods, slightly rejected, then rolls up the window of the car, and waves. Lena waves back as the car pulls away.

Aiysha coughs at the dust that comes up from the drive as the car drives away, then giggles slightly.

Lena stands with her hands in her pockets, looking wistfully and sadly after the car until Aiysha stops coughing, and starts chuckling instead. She spins round to face her friend.

"What?" She asks, and Aiysha laughs, grinning impishly.

"You still like him." She sings. Lena feels her cheeks heat up.

"Who?" She bluffs.

"You know who. _Charles."_ Aiysha rolls her eyes, then runs back into the house as Len begins to protest.

"No, I don't!" Lena shouts half heartedly to her friend's retreating figure. She looks at the floor, then kicks her foot along the ground. She feels incredibly young all of a sudden.

Then she follows Aiysha back inside, closing the large wooden door behind her.

[][][][]

Lena sinks happily into the squidgy sofa, smiling when she remembers all the memories attached to it.

Planning missions with Charles, Erik and Moira.

Card games with Hank and Sean. She can see them all sitting there now, feels her face begging to stretch into a smile to grin at Sean as they let Hank beat them again.

She blows on her tea, wrapping her fingers around the warm mug. Her phone beeps, and she pulls it out her pocket, and grins as she presses the green button to receive the call. She stretches out on her back, leaning her head on the armrest, and presses her phone to her ear.

"Hey." She says.

"Hi." Clint's voice replies.

"How are you? How's Gaia? You know I can come back at any point." She says hurriedly, and hears Clint chuckle.

"Calm down, Eleanor. I'm not useless, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I just... I worry."

"Don't. Everything's fine. Gaia's just sorting out her bookshelves."

Lena grins.

"You took her book shopping, didn't you?"

She knows he's blushing sheepishly.

"She's very persuasive sometimes.." He explains. Lena laughs.

"No, it's good. As long as she's not persuading you to buy her science equipment. Especially explosive ones."

"She tried, but I rang Bruce to see if her claim was legitimate, and it's wasn't." He laughs. "Honestly, that girl."

"Well, I'd better go." Lena says reluctantly, sighing. "But, if you need anything, call me. I will come home at once if you need me, or even if you just hint that you do."

"Hey, relax. You deserve a break." He laughs. "Even if that break involves saving the world."

"It's what you trained me for." Lena says softly.

Clint sighs.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

An awkward silence falls.

"I'll ring tomorrow. And send my love to Gaia. Tell her mummy is missing her very much, and that I'll send both of you a postcard."

"Of course. Will do."

Clint disconnects the call.

[][][]

Aiysha stands in the doorway, holding her mug of coffee and a packet of digestives. She doesn't want to interrupt Lena's phone call, even though her curiosity is overwhelming.

She's quite confused about the identity of Gaia, she doesn't remember Lena mentioning a Gaia at any point when they used to know each other, and she also doesn't know who Lena is talking to. Probably that Clint Barton though. From what Hank said, he seemed pretty close to Lena.

Then Lena tells the person to tell Gaia that mummy loves them. Puzzle pieces click in Aiysha's head. Gaia is her daughter, and is Clint her husband? Did Lena get married in the time she was away? Aiysha peers at her friend's hand; no, no ring. Aiysha bites her lip in confusion.

Obviously they have more catching up to do than she thought.

Lena hangs up, and Aiysha walks over and sits down on the end of the sofa. She looks at the phone questioningly.

"Sorry." Lena says. "Just checking up with Clint."

Aiysha nods as if she understands, even though she really doesn't. She takes a deep breath.

"Sorry, but who's Gaia?" She asks, blushing slightly. Lena smiles.

"That's a long story." She sighs. "Can you go first?"

Aiysha smiles.

"Alright."

She takes another deep breath.

"After Cuba, Erik left, taking Raven with him. That nearly killed Charles in itself, but the loss of his legs and you as well had a massive effect on him. But he persevered, and we started to set up that school he always talked about. Then, two weeks before we opened, Alex got called up to fight, and of course wanted to go, but the others wouldn't let him, including myself. When he didn't turn up, they came for him, and he tried to stay when he saw that side of them.. Sean tried to stop the people who took Alex away, and..." Her breath catches. "They shot him." She murmurs, staring into her coffee.

Lena takes a deep breath in. She knew something had happened to Sean, from the clipped tones whenever she mentioned him, and the way both Charles and Hank refused to go anywhere near the window Erik had shoved Sean out all those years ago. But something this.. She wants to punch something at the injustice.

Aiysha carries on speaking.

"Alex went to Vietnam. Last I heard from him was 5 months ago. My only consolation is that I haven't had a letter saying he isn't alright."

Lena suddenly notices a shiny something on Aiysha's finger. She sits up, and takes Aiysah's hand gently.

"Congrats." She says softly, and Aiysha laughs slightly.

"Thanks. But he left before the ceremony."

Lena looks up at Aiysha, who wipes away a few small tears.

"Okay. Your turn." Aiysha laughs. Lena sits back again, and blows all the air out of her cheeks.

"Well, when I 'died', the transfer of your mutation worked. But it wasn't easy, and the healing process took nearly 6 hours, and by the time I woke up, you all believed I was dead."

"Why didn't you just come and find us?"

"There was something else as well. I had to leave."

"Why?"

"Well, that's the complicated bit. Gaia, who you heard me talking, she's my daughter."

"Is that Clint your husband?" Aiysha asks, resisting the urge to let her mouth drop open. Lena pulls a face.

"No! Ugh, what a thought."

Aiysha giggles.

"Sorry."

"No, don't worry about it." Lena laughs. "That's what the midwife thought as well. You should have seen the disgusted looks we gave her when she asked if Clint was the father." She shudders. "Ugh." She repeats.

"So.. Who was the father?"

Lena rolls her eyes, but fixes a serious look on her face.

"You can probably guess."

Aiysha sighs.

"Yeah, I can. But that still doesn't explain why you left. In fact, if Charles was the father, that explains even less why you left. He would have been a great dad!"

Lena sighs.

"Yeah, but for some reason I didn't see it that way. If I could go back in time, change what I seid then, then I would. But at that moment, I didn't think we could do it. Also, I missed my friend."

She shrugs, regret knowing at her insides.

"Can I see a picture?" Aiysha asks, trying to change the subject, and Lena's face lights up at th mention of her daughter. Aiysha smiles. She must love her very much.

"Yes, of course. She's such a sweet thing." Lena replies instantly, pulling her phone back out of her jacket and patting the space of sofa beside her

Aiysha moves along the sofa to sit beside Lena, and claps her hand to her mouth when she sees the photo Clint took of Lena and Gaia reading on the lawn a few months ago. The book is open on the grass, and Gaia is leaning on Lena's shoulder, her eyes fixed on the text, a smile on her face. Lena is glancing up at her daughter, brushing a brown and green ponytail to the side.

"She looks like you. But she's got Charles' eyes and grin."

"She has." Lena smiles sadly at the photo, missing Gaia deeply.

"Wait a sec." Aiysha spots something funny, and zooms in on the bushes behind them. "How on earth did you cut the hedge in that way?"

Lena laughs, and her cheeks blush with pride.

"That was Gaia. Her mutation is to control plants." Her eyes are full of happiness.

Aiysha grins at her.

"I can't wait to meet her." She says, seeing tears in Lena's eyes. She must miss her daughter. Aiysha makes a mental note of this, so she can remind Lena to call.

Lena squeezes her hand.

"God, I missed you so much!" She cries, laughing and leaning her head on Aiysha's shoulder.

Aiysha laughs, and squeezes her hand back.

"Missed you too."

[][][]

The car pulls into the driveway, and as soon as Aiysha opens the door a silver blur flies past her into the hallway. She blinks, and pats her hair down from where it has flown into the air. It stops long enough for them to see it is a teenage boy, who winks at them, then he whizzes off again, up and down the stairs.

Lena walks out to the car, and opens the door for Charles, who climbs out with a murderous look on his face.

"So it went well then?" Lena asks, grinning and rocking on her heels.

"I'm going to kill that kid." Charles mutters angrily in reply, but he smiles slightly when Lena chuckles.


	14. Chapter 14- Truth

Truths

A/N Hiiiiii! By the way, the stuff in italics is Charles' flashbacks. Thanks for reading and please review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel!

Charles stares wide eyed at Gaia. He's confused, and he needs answers. He needs them now.

Gaia bites her lip. She wants to tell him, spit it in his face, rage about how upset she is that he never noticed. But she just needs to find the way to say it. Not that it really matters. If Logan succeeds, this reality will be erased.

She's scared about what this will mean. Will it destroy her relationship with Will and the other X-Men? If her mother meets Charles again, Lena could end up fighting with Charles, and then Gaia could have never have come to Westchester. Even she's got to admit, she prefers living under her father's nose for years and losing her mother to never meeting Will or Lorna.

She wishes now she hadn't told Logan about Lena. It seemed like such a good idea five, ten minutes ago. Now, she's not so sure.

She feels all the expectant eyes on her, and she's suddenly overwhelmed by the presence of all the X-Men, and she wants to run away and hide, like she did when she was small. Come to think of it, she feels very young at the moment.

Charles finds his voice, and repeats his question.

"How did you know Eleanor Richards?" He asks, and his heart breaks slightly when he sees the pain in Gaia's eyes. Lena was obviously special to her.

"I.. I knew her. When she was alive." Charles frowns in confusion.

"She died before you were born." He replies simply. Gaia laughs darkly.

"Sorry, Professor. Eleanor Richards died two month ago."

Charles stares at her, his heart breaking and mending in one swift move. Why did she leave then? He thought he knew her, loved her. Did he perceive her feelings all wrong?

But, he realises, he knows nothing about Gaia. Only that she turned up one day, with her wonderful mutation, infectious smile and a desire to make a difference.

What did she say her surname was?

 _Barton._

That's the name of Lena's best friend, Charles remembers. Is Gaia her goddaughter?

Dammit. He really needs answers.

He sense how uncomfortable Gaia is, and sees her nervous glances to the others, who are all staring at her in confusion. Apart from Will, who must know.

"Follow me." He says softly, and some relief crosses Gaia's pale face. She still looks uneasy though, and Charles supposes she must be nervous about explaining to him of Lena's survival.

He wheels his chair towards the doorway, as wary as Gaia of the eyes following them.

He pushes the door into a side room, and wheels in. Gaia closes the door behind her, and leans against the wall, where she looks comfy for a second, then she slides down to sit on the floor, legs crossed, fiddling with a thread on her shoe.

Charles looks pityingly at her.

"Eleanor." He says softly. "How did you know her."

She smiles slightly, but doesn't look up from her boots.

"She.. She was my mother." She replies.

Charles feels like someone's hit him in the stomach with a hockey stick. He lifts a hand to his forehead, and stares at Gaia. But.. But.. Clint was her friend..? Millions of confused thoughts sprint around Charles' head, like over excitable springer spaniels. They crash into each other, causing him a dreadful headache.

"Your mother?" Charles asks. She nods. He takes a deep breath. "How old are you, Gaia?"

Still she doesn't look up.

"Twenty seven."

He could do the maths, but he's focusing on other things right now. He pushes her age aside. He doesn't really know why he asked anyway. Probably to work out I she already had a daughter when he met her. Which he knows now that she didn't.

"What happened to Lena?" He asks, and he sees from her stance tensing that she finds this answer difficult.

"Aiysha James transferred her mutation to heal, and it worked. She survived and went to live with Clint Barton. Then, I left her to go to a school for mutants. I left her and she was killed by sentinels."

There's self hatred in her last two sentences, and Charles sympathises with her. But, his Eleanor. She was alive, after all those years? A small part of him wants to be angry, but he's filled with such relief that she had that chance at life he thought he'd denied her. But also, he feels terribly sad. She really is dead, and he never got that chance to see her again.

For the past twenty eight years, he'd have given his life to see her one last time.

"She was alive." He mutters, aware of how silly he must sound to Gaia. She's told him she was alive at least 3 times.

Gaia just nods her head, still looking at the grubby floor.

Charles doesn't speak for a few minutes, just goes over his thoughts in his head. For some reason, he knows he is waiting for Gaia to say something, and he knows she's simply preparing for what she has to say.

She reaches up, and pulls a silver chain out from under her top, and lifts it into the light, head bowed. Does it pain her that much to look at him?

But then his breath catches in his throat at the silver locket which glints in the light.

[][][][]

 _Charles smiles as Lena enters, and she sits down opposite him at the table. She gives him a confused look, but he just smiles at her._

 _"Hey." He says._

 _"Hey." She replies._

 _He reaches and pulls a box out of his pocket._

 _Lena's eyes widen when she catches sight of it._

 _"Charles." She begins, but he cuts her off._

 _"Relax. It's not that." Her shoulders loose the slight tension they gained, and she leans back against the chair. He slides the box across the table._

 _She picks it up gently, then snaps it open. She gasps._

 _"Charles..." She says, lifting a hand to her mouth. She looks up at him, eyes large._

 _She lifts out the chain. "Charles.. It's beautiful."_

 _Charles shrugs, embarrassed._

 _"It was my mothers. I want you to have it."_

 _Lena puts down the chain._

 _"Charles.. I can't." She protests, but Charles ignores her._

 _"No, I want you to have it. To remember me by."_

 _Her eyes snap up to meet his, a slight storm brewing there. She sees his face, and her eyes soften._

 _"You think you're not going to make it."_

 _Charles shrugs again._

 _"Shaw is powerful. There's every possibility I might not."_

 _Lena shakes her head._

 _"Of course you're going to make it."_

 _Charles looks at the table._

 _"We'll do it together, okay?" She asks, and Charles looks up sadly. "Together?" She repeats._

 _He nods, taking her hand in his._

 _"Together."_

[][][][]

Gaia fiddles with her shoes. How does she tell him?

She's spent years practising this moment, years of waiting and planning. Thousands of ways she could do it, each more dramatic than the last.

She glances up quickly, just long enough to gauge his emotions. Her heart stops.

He's looking distantly somewhere over her left shoulder, eyes filled with sadness. Something inside him is shattering.

Then all the ways she could tell him vanish except one.

She imagined herself screaming it in his face, or telling him through a riddle, then laughing cooly as he worked it out. She imagined herself feeling better about it than this.

Seeing him broken like this, she can't even contemplate telling him through the witty, sarcastic methods she envisioned. All that's left is the simple truth.

[][][][]

Charles hears Gaia's footsteps walking towards him, and that's what wakes him from his daydream. However, he doesn't look towards her until she's kneeled down in front of him.

Then, he gasps.

It's quite dark in the room, but the space in front of him is lit up by blue eyes.

How could he be so stupid?

He supposed some part of his brain had subconsciously pushed any thoughts of it aside, thinking it was impossible.

But even so, how did he never notice? The blue blue eyes he sees every single day when he looks in the mirror, and he didn't see them staring right at him?

And suddenly, everything clicks.

Why Hank looked so disappointed in him after his meeting with Gaia.

Why Will was always attempting to persuade Gaia to talk to him.

Why Gaia and Aiysha were so close from the very beginning.

Why Gaia looked so crestfallen after their first meeting.

He puts his head in his hands, and starts to sob.

Lena had his little girl. All those years he chucked his life away, he could have looked after a little girl? Oh ,it would have been wonderful. What did he do to not deserve her trust? To his surprise, he finds himself putting no blame on Lena whatsoever, only on himself.

"Oh, Gaia. I'm so sorry." He whispers. "I'm so sorry."

He feels warm hands on his, and his hands are pulled away from his head, forcing him to look at her. She smiles, and Charles is confused.

He feels a wave of self loathing.

"No, I'm sorry." Gaia replies, and Charles realises she's crying too. "I should have told you."

"I should have noticed."

Gaia chuckles slightly.

"Looks like we're both in the wrong."

He lifts his hand to her head, and she leans her cheek into his hand.

"My daughter." Charles says proudly, tears still running down his face. "My beautiful daughter." He doesn't know whether to feel happy or sad. He appears to be capable of feeling both at once.

Gaia smiles.

"My silly old dad."

"Tell me your full name."

Gaia blinks in surprise, but then smiles. She shrugs her shoulders slightly.

"Gaiathryn Lucinda Barton."

Charles smiles, a little ballon of pride rising within him.

"Nice to meet you, Gaiathryn."

[][][][]

 _Charles pushes open the door, carrying a bowl of popcorn. He lifts it up to show Lena, who smiles. She's sitting curled up on the sofa, blanket tucked around her knees and writing a letter, chewing the top of her pen._

 _Charles walks over, and sits down next to her. She lifts the blankets over his knees and then leans against him, signing of the letter. She folds it neatly then drops it on the coffee table in front of them._

 _"Who are you writing to?" Charles asks, and Lena sighs._

 _"My friend Gaiathryn."_

 _"That's an unusual name." He replies. Lena laughs, and tilts her head to look up at him._

 _"She's not from around here." She winks._

 _Charles laughs, and winks back, catching her drift._

 _"So, what film are we watching?" He asks. He files the vague information he's received about Gaiathryn away for later use. He should notice if anything about her comes up again. It isn't a very common name, after all._

[][][][]

Gaia takes off the locket, and drops it into Charles' palm.

"You should have it." She murmurs softly, but he is shaking his head before she even finishes the sentence.

"My mother," Charles replies, "told me to give it to my daughter. And, although it happened accidentally, looked like it happened anyway." He smiles slightly, perhaps sadly. His cheeks are wet, and in some ways he feels happier than he he's been in years, but he still feels hot, wet tears rolling down his face.

He gives the locket back to her, and when she looks up at him, he realises there are tears in her eyes.

She squeezes his hand.


	15. Chapter 15- Pentagon(1)

Pentagon (part one)

A/N Hi, sorry about the slow update, even though the term is coming to a close I'm still getting bucket loads of work and I had no time to write :-( but anyways, I hope you had a lovely week and Merry Christmas!

"So, what's the plan?" Quicksilver asks, zooming into the room munching on an apple he nicked from a bowl along a corridor. He gags, then spits out the plastic. "Eurgh!" He exclaims. "Who keeps plastic fruit in their fruit bowls?"

Charles grins.

"Someone who wants to show fruit but can't be asked to eat the fruit." He shrugs, then points to the whiteboard on his left. "And that's the plan."

Quicksilver jumps in front of the board, flicking his head from side to side as he tries to decipher the lines and squiggles dotted around, as well as the shorthand abbreviations Charles has used.

Charles watches Peter's head spin with a mix of curiousity and mirth.

Lena watches the small smile Charles is giving Peter interestedly. Aiysha coughs loudly, and Lena blushes, embarrassed to have been caught looking at Charles again. Her plan to convince Aiysha of her uninterestedness is going badly.

Peter zips into an armchair next to Logan, who swears under his breath. He's not used to people racing around like that, and it makes him jump every single time.

"Please explain." Peter says, gesturing to the diagram. Charles smiles. He'd thought he'd never ask.

If he does say so himself, his plan is rather clever. Cleverest thing he's thought up in years. Progress.

"So," he begins, tapping the left hand side of the board, where a door is marked. "This is the entrance."

Peter rolls his eyes, but Charles ignores him. "Aiysha will be our get away car, mainly because Alex would skin me alive, and also because then she can see if we're getting into any danger and will be able to contact us through Lena."

They all nod.

"I'll go with Logan and Hank, and Lena and Peter will go straight to the cell. Peter will do whatever necessary, and Lena is basically there so that if Erik tries to cause trouble she can freeze him or put him to sleep. Peter, you'll listen to her if she believes you are in any kind of danger, alright?" Charles' voice takes on a serious note. Peter, sensing now isn't a time to mess about, nods solemnly. "Hank will disable the fire alarm, and we'll meet you two and Erik in the kitchen outside the cell."

Charles smiles, and takes in the group. Not perfect, but they'll have to do. At least they don't need those silly suits this time.

"Everyone clear?"

There's a murmured agree which runs around the room.

"We're going to need a bigger car." Lena mutters as she squeezes in between Charles and Logan. Aiysha's driving, and Hank called shotgun. Peter's running behind them. Or maybe in front of them. Who can tell?

Lena shrugs to herself as she remembers what Charles says earlier. Erik is likely to cause trouble, so most likely she can put him in the boot. Although he might protest when he wakes up. The fact is, she doesn't really think about in the car would care if Erik was upset, especially the guy sitting uncomfortably on her right.

Charles squirms in his seat, trying to make as little contact with Lena as possible. He leans as far against the door as he can, holding his breath so that he's not touching her. He doesn't want to be awkward, but he knows he's probably being more awkward by doing this. Okay Charles, make it look natural. Okaaaayyyyy...

He releases slightly, although not enough that it means he goes out of the tiny space he's confined himself to. He leans his head against the headrest, and puts on a neutral face.

There. Nailed it.

Then he realises Lena and Logan are both shaking. He shoots them a look out of the corner of his eyes, and sees that in addition to the shaking, Lena is biting her lip and Logan is shoving his fist into his mouth. As though they're trying not to laugh.

 _As though they're trying not to laugh._

Charles glares at them, and elbows Lena in the ribs. She elbows him back without missing a beat, then turns to look at him, pretending to look all innocent. He glares at her, and she glares back.

Then Logan snorts, and they both giggle. Lena pulls on Charles' arm.

"Sit comfortably." She tells him sternly. He slouches, then freezes. Somebody is holding onto his mind.

He hears somebody say something.

"Peter, now!" It's Lena's voice, and then a silver blur appears, and he wants to swat it away, but he can't, because _somebody is holding onto his mind._

He glares at Lena again, but he just sees her smile slightly. Charles tries to break free from the iron grip, but without his mutation he's as powerless as ever.

The silver blur in front of him darts away out of the window, making him feel dizzy. The grip on his mind lessens, which makes him even more dizzy. His head spins, and he reaches up to brush his hair out of his face, but finds that he can't. He sits up in panic. He thought the snipping of scissors he could hear was in his imagination.

He runs his fingers through his shorter hair, and blinks in surprise when he realises he feels satisfied. Somehow, having it shorter has made him feel happier. He runs his fingers through it again, then makes a face. Ugh, it's going to need a wash.

Lena watches him bemusedly. She's heard his mental annoyance at his hair, when he has to brush it back all the time. And really, it's been driving her insane. He's not Severus Snape.

Charles doesn't know whether to mask his happiness or not. He sneaks a glance at Lena, and sees that she's smiling at him. Okay, happy face.

Charles smiles at her sheepishly, a little embarrassed.

"Thanks." He mutters.

She grins.

"No problem. You look a lot smarter now."

[][][][][][]

Aiysha parks the car by the entrance, and turns to the others.

"I'll be waiting at point A." She says, handing them a map. They nod, and she lets out a deep breath. "Be careful, okay?"

Lena gets out the car, and Peter zooms up beside her.

"Ready to go?" He asks.

"Of course. Oh, and by the way..."

"Yes?"

"Well done on the haircut. It looks neater than I thought it would."

"Thank you? I'm not sure if that was a compliment." Peter raises his eyebrows curiously.

Lena laughs.

"It was, don't worry."

Logan and Charles take a deep breath in, then Charles turns to face Hank.

"You ready?"

Hank smiles.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Charles puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Good."

"Charles?"

"Yes?"

"Don't get annoyed at Erik." Hank tells him. Charles frowns.

"I won't."

Hank rolls his eyes.

[][][][][]

Lena sits in the corner of the elevator, tying her shoes laces as Peter tapes up the guard. She knots the laces into a double bow, and jumps up just as the elevator lands with a ping. She turns invisible, then follows him down the corridor.

Man, it feels so good being able to hide again.

She sticks her tongue out at every guard she passes. She's 32, going on 6.

She sees Peter twitch in his efforts to walk slowly. She frowns. It must be really difficult for him, not using his mutation when he's so used to using it for everything.

The door opens, and as promised Peter waits a full five seconds before moving forwards in order to give her time to get through. The door closes behind them, but Lena stays invisible.

She watches Erik carefully. He's lying on his back, the perfect image of contemplation. He looks almost like he could be nice.

Peter sends the tray down, and Erik's eyes snap open. The tranquil image is ruined once Lena sees the sadness and hatred that covers his features now that he's awake.

Erik takes the tray, and takes a sharp breath in when he sees the note. Could he be getting out? Or is this a trick. He looks up at the guard, who grins goofily. Erik scowls, but still feels a tiny bit excited inside. He's been so bored for so long.

He takes heed of the note, and crouches under his bed. He's unsure of what's going to happen next, but he's curious to find out. He frowns when he sees the guard look to his left, as though he's asking someone something. A little seed of annoyance is planted within him. What if his suspicions were correct, and Lena did survive? Would she come and find him? Why?

The guard bends down, places his hands on the glass and a humming fills the air.

Erik lifts his arms over head to shield himself from the falling glass.

He pulls himself up out of the cell, more excited than he's been in years, free, with his back to the door.

Then he hears a voice which shoves the small smirk off of his face and replaces it with a scowl.

"Hey, Erik."


	16. Chapter 16- Pentagon(2)

Pentagon( part two)

A/N hi! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter :-)

Erik lets out a low snarl.

"Lena." He snaps, feeling his jaw tighten.

"Hey." She repeats, not breaking eye contact. Lena weighs up her options. Should she take him out? Charles did warn her against doing anything drastic unless absolutely necessary, as then Erik will be even more difficult to reason with. She sighs. "Are you going to come quietly?" She asks. She may as well be blunt about it, he knows what she is capable of doing. He doesn't seem to be afraid though. Does he trust her?

Erik eyes her carefully, all of his suspicion around Telepaths coming back all too easily.

"Depends where you want me to go."

She kicks off of the wall, and walks towards him and the other mutant, her arms folded.

"Oh, you know. Just your average saving the world mission." She shrugs her shoulders.

Erik chuckles quietly.

"Of course. I'd expect nothing else from someone who came back from the dead to break me out from prison."

Lena laughs, then turns to the teenager.

"Peter, they're going to be here any second."

He nods, then grins.

"Yes. I know."

Erik looks at the boy suspiciously.

"How were you planning to get past the armed guards?" He asks unhelpfully, but he figures it is a question that has to be asked. Peter rolls his eyes.

"Easy as pie."

Erik stiffens when he feels Peter put a hand on the back of his head. Wait, how did he get over here so fast?

"What are you doing?"

He sees Lena walk towards the door, and station herself beside the frame, so that anyone on the other side would be unable to see her.

"I'm protecting your head so you don't get whiplash."

"What?"

"Whiplaaash."

Before Erik has time to splutter a reply, the door opens. He shuts his eyes and braces himself for the bullets, but then something fast zooms past him. He feels sick. Erik opens his eyes, and stumbles backwards when he realises he's in an elevator.

Peter, who for some reason is dressed differently, shoots him a look.

"Don't worry. Everyone is like that first time."

Erik doesn't find that reassuring. He breathes deeply, trying not to lose his all too weak grip on consciousness. Years stuck in a cell do that to you.

He sees Peter glance at the guards, who are beginning to get back up, and wonders why Peter hasn't pushed the button to send them away. He looks around.

Where's Lena?

He looks out into the corridor, and then someone swears softly as they crash full force into him.

Erik manages to stay upright, but massages his nose.

"Sorry." A panting Lena says as she becomes visible. "It's a long corridor, and I needed to get down it very quickly. No time for avoiding surprise heads appearing."

Peter pushes the button to send up the lift, but a few of the guards get back up in time, and fire glass bullets towards the lift. Peter prepares to catch them, but Lena puts a hand on his shoulder and gestures in front of them.

Instead, Peter waves a cheery goodbye to the guards from inside the protection of the purple bubble surrounding the lift.

[][][][][]

Charles checks his watch nervously. Is it time yet?

He hears a voice in his head.

 _Now._

He signals to Logan, and they both walk through the double doors into the kitchen. They're drenched in seconds, and are slightly relieved to see everyone has already evacuated. Saves them a job.

They rush over the lift, which has started to beep to show that it's coming upwards. Charles thinks of calm things. He really does not want to lose control in front of Erik. Sunshine, clouds, Lena, Christmas trees, fairy lights, new book. And breathe.

The lift pings, and the doors open.

[][][][]

Erik reels back in shock when he sees his old friend. Well, it's partially in shock, partially because Charles punches him in the face, which sends him flying backwards. He hits something cushiony, and smiles gratefully at Lena, who drops the force field when she sees that he's got his balance back.

He nurses his chin.

"Good to see you too, old friend."

Charles glares at him, then gives Lena a look.

"Really?" She asks. Charles huffs grumpily, and mutters something like 'can't deal with that prat'. Lena sighs. "Fine." She turns to Erik, who, guessing what she's going to do, glares at her.

"You're not knocking me out simply because he has a grudge!" Erik tells her snappily. He glares at Charles.

"I have a grudge for good reason." Charles mutters. Erik steps forward, and opens his mouth to defend himself, but he feels a hand on his chest, pushing him back.

Lena pushes Charles back with the other hand, desperate to avoid a confrontation.

"Can you two manage to get out without biting each other's heads off? Because the fire engine will be here soon, with lots of fire fighters who can recognise you and arrest you. Start behaving like grown ups, the pair of you."

Erik and Charles look at each other and the woman standing between them. They both take a step back. "Thank you." Lena says. "Let's go."

"Lena!" Peter yells, spotting the guards moving through the doors. The guns fire.

She turns to Peter, and nods to him.

Peter runs.

[][][][]

Erik watches the boy zip about, as the bullets hit the purple wall in front of him. He's impressed. Could he get this boy for the Brotherhood? He eyes Charles, who gives the boy a proud look. Darn it, Charles has probably already trained this boy in his school, and brainwashed him with the whole 'mutants and humans can be friends' routine.

He sighs.

The boy stops, and gestures to them to move.

Lena pauses.

"Wait, let me talk to Aiysha."

Erik frowns. They're in danger, and she's talking to her friend?! He sighs.

"Bloody Telepaths." He mutters.

Charles smirks as Erik falls to the ground, fast asleep.

"Erik annoying you, Lena?" He asks innocently.

She glares at him.

"Shut up, Charles."

"Peter, Logan, could you carry him?" Charles asks.

The pair sigh, but nod.

[][][][][]

Aiysha looks up from her book when she hears Lena's voice in her mind.

 _Okay, we've got him._ Lena says.

Brilliant. Aiysha replies. I can't see anything dangerous for you, but there's something scary I can't access.

 _Alright. We'll worry about that later. We'll be with you shortly._

Aiysha feels Lena leave, and wonders about that piece she couldn't access. She tries again.

There's danger, very close. But for whom? If only she could see, but there's some sort of block.

Something clicks.

When they first found her gift to focus on specific points, Charles said she would have trouble seeing her own future. The threat is to her.

Deep breaths. This is what you were trained for.

A van pulls up next to her, and she turns her head slowly. She'd hoped for a bit more time to prepare.

 _LENA!_ She mentally shouts, and hopes the message has gone through before her attention is captured by a man knocking on the window. The lapel on his jacket reads 'Trask Industries', and he's carrying a white square which is flashing at her. He grins nastily, showing sharp teeth, and mouths a word at her.

Mutant.

[][][]

Lena hears Aiysha's scream, and breaks into a run. Logan, Hank, Peter and Charles look at each other, then run after her.

"Lena!" Charles shouts as he follows her down the long corridors of the Pentagon. She doesn't reply. This day just keeps getting more and more confusing.

Peter and Logan carry Erik between them, his head lolling until Logan stops.

"You." He points at Peter. "Follow her." Peter nods, and runs up beside Lena. Logan slings Erik over his shoulder and runs after Hank and Charles.

Peter waves to Lena, but she sends a message to him. Her voice is shaky and panicky, and Peter frowns. He's not used to telepathic communication.

 _I_ _think Aiysha's in trouble._

Peter nods. He runs off as fast as he can, turning down the corridors and hoping his memory of the map Charles gave him is correct. He liked Aiysha, most he thinks out of the collection of people he's just met, besides friendly Lena. He hopes Aiysha is alright. He runs faster.

His face falls as soon as he gets outside.

The car windows are smashed, the doors dented, and small drops of blood on the pavement show sure signs of a struggle. He stands in shock.

A few minutes later, the slower runners catch up, and draw the same conclusion as him when he hands them the badge he found on the seat of the car. At least Aiysha managed to leave a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow.

Lena puts her head in her hands. She didn't do enough, she didn't plan carefully. She should have come quicker, she should have stayed behind herself.

Charles can see what Lena is thinking without his telepathic powers. He hugs her, and mutters to her. She shoves her face into his shoulder, trying not to think aboutall the things she should have done.

"It's okay, we'll get her back. Look, she made it easy for us to find her." He presses the badge into her hand. "We'll just add it to our list of jobs."

Hank kicks the car. Then he kicks it's again.

He was supposed to keep her safe! Now they're going to do goodness knows what to her, and Alex is going to kill him, if he doesn't beat himself up for it first. Just what happened to Sean.

Just what will happen to them all.

Hank looks up, and realises he has all their attention. He looks at Logan.

"We'll follow your plan, okay? We'll do whatever we need to do to stop this war, but our first priority, it's getting her back. Safe and well, okay?" He feel like crying with rage and sadness; he already misses his almost sister like a lost limb.

Logan nods solemn, drops Erik on the pavement not that gently, then sits down beside him. This is going to be a lot harder than he thought.


	17. Chapter 17- Complications

Complications

A/ N Hi! Sorry about the late update, my IPad (which I write and post on) had a midlife crisis, and Christmas time was pretty busy. I hope you all had a great Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Charles puts a hand on Lena's shoulder.

"Calm down, Lena." He says, and she turns to frown at him.

"How?" She snaps. She lifts a hand to her forehead and starts muttering to herself. "We have to find her, we have to trace that truck."

Charles takes her arm, trying to get her attention.

"Lena!"

She turns to look at him, and he can see she's panicking. "Look, Lena." He says calmly. "We need to plan, and we have to find Raven." He realises too late that this might not have been the best thing to say.

"No! Charles, you don't understand, we have to find her!" The panic turns to anger, and she shakes his hand off her arm, then crosses her arms.

"And we will, but we need to find Raven."

"But Raven's perfectly safe! Who knows what they might do to Aiysha. Oh my gosh, poor Aiysha." Lena lifts her hand to her forehead again.

"But Raven's about to kill Trask, and destroy our future! Aiysha wouldn't want us to cause a war between mutants and humans for her sake."

Lena pauses for a second; Charles does have a point.

"Please, Charles, let me find her."

Charles sighs.

"I understand your concern, Lena, I'm just as worried as you are. But we have to think practically. Raven's powerful, she could help us find Aiysha."

Lena nods.

"Fine." She kicks the edge of the pavement. "We'd better find Raven pretty damn fast, or you'll find yourselves an invisible mutant short." She threatens.

Charles nods.

"Of course."

He turns to his left.

"Logan, where did you say Raven killed Trask."

Logan frowns, then thinks back( or forward) to the Professor's words before Kitty sent him back.

"Paris peace talks." He answers. Charles sighs.

"How will we know if she's going?" Charles asks himself.

Hank grins.

"Let me handle this one."

[][][][]

"Where are we driving?" Lena asks, as Charles swerves round a roundabout, swearing under his breath. He hasn't driven for years, for a combination of reasons, such as being drunk and having no where to go. He hadn't even noticed that Aiysha, Alex and Hank had gained their driving licenses until they went in search of Lena.

"Airfield about 40 miles away." Charles replies, braking suddenly to avoid crashing into a blue Toyota. Logan and Lena, sitting in the back, both fly forwards, into the chairs in front. Hank drops his laptop on his feet.

"Charles!" They all moan.

"Sorry." He mutters, turning left onto the main road.

Hank picks up his laptop and continues typing quickly.

Then they hear another groan, which is swiftly followed by a torrent of angry and confused German.

"You alright, Erik?" Lena calls, grinning slightly to herself.

The reply from the boot is rather negative.

"Sorry about that. Shall I get Charles to stop at the next lay- by? You can come and sit in the car."

They hear Erik sigh.

"Yes." He says tiredly. He yawns.

"Magic word?" Hank shouts from the front.

They can almost hear Erik's frown. He huffs.

"Please." He mutters.

Charles sniggers.

"What was that?" Hank asks. "I couldn't quite hear you."

They hear Erik sigh again, even more grumpily this time.

"Please!" He yells.

Charles nods.

"Yeah, okay."

He indicates to pull over, and stops the car.

Peter appears beside them, and knocks on the window. Charles gets out.

"What's going on?" Peter asks. Charles grins.

"Erik wants to come out of the boot."

Peter shrugs.

"Oh, okay."

Charles walks around the car, and opens the boot. Erik glares at him, and Charles bites his lip to stifle his laughter.

He doesn't say a word, just steps aside as Erik hauls himself out and walks round to the door.

Lena decides that Erik sitting in the middle is not an option, and so shifts over to sit next to Logan.

Erik gets in silently, clipping in his seat belt and then turning to glare out the window, although the not before glaring at all the occupants of the car. Logan sighs. He didn't sign up for all this tension.

The Professor hadn't been lying when he said that himself and Magneto didn't used to get on.

[][][]

"Ah hah!" Hank exclaims, clicking on a file and grinning when he sees the contents.

"What is it, Hank?" Charles asks, smiling to himself as he successfully navigates a large roundabout, pulling off onto a small side road leading to the airfield where the Blackbird is.

"I've found Raven. She caught a flight to Paris yesterday evening."

"How did you find her?"

"She always uses the same name." Hank begins to explain, but Erik cuts him off.

"Maud Jones." He says, and Hank looks round at him in surprise.

"Yes." He says.

Charles frowns.

"Who's that?"

Hank looks out the window awkwardly, hoping Erik will take over. He does.

"Her mother." Erik says softly.

"How.." Charles begins, speechless, but Hank interrupts.

"I helped her trace her mother before she left with Erik."

Charles nods.

"Oh."

He smiles suddenly.

"Thank you, Hank. She always said she wanted to find her mother, when we were kids, because it was her father who sent her away, aided by the village."

"I don't think it did her much good, though." Hank mutters. Charles frowns, then turns to look at him, expecting an explanation.

Again though, Erik cuts in first.

"Maud Jones was killed defending her second child, a child who could absorb electrical energy. The child was also killed in the same attack."

Charles hits the breaks of the car, and starts breathing deeply.

"When did she find out?"

Hank pales.

"Just before Cuba."

Charles swears loudly.

"That.. That helped drive her away?" He asks quietly. He puts his head on the steering wheel.

Nobody speaks for a while. Even Erik looks vaguely guilty.

Charles sits up suddenly.

"We have to find her."

[][][]

Peter sits on the wing of the plane, swinging his legs. _Finally_ , he thinks, as the car pulls up. He's been here for _years_ , waiting for them.

He's about to start complaining, when he sees Charles' face and Lena mimes cutting her neck. He shuts his mouth again.

He frowns, but waves at Erik, who gives him a small smile.

"Let's go!" He says, racing up the stairs into the plane.

[][][]

Lena catches Charles' arm just before he starts to climb the steps onto the Blackbird. She smiles slightly, and he looks at his shoes.

"Hey." She says softly. "Don't let Erik wind you up."

Charles looks back up at her, and returns her smile. For a moment they stand there, until Lena blinks and walks past him onto the plane.

Charles sighs.

Could this week have got more hectic?


	18. Chapter 18- Plane

Plane

A/N Hi! I'm really busy at the moment, so sorry if updates are incredibly irregular! Hope you all had a good week, please read and review :-)

The atmosphere on the plane is frosty, to say the least. And it's not because of a lack of furnishings and insulation, as Hank remembers well the many hours he spent working on this plane to make it as homely as possible. This, he thinks, was a sign that they days of the X-Men were over. They needed the plane for transporting children home if there was no other option, not a highly weaponised jet to help them on missions, because there were no missions. In the school's early days, they'd gone on a few missions, mainly ones to rescue mutant children Charles had picked up on Cerebro. Then, the school became full, and then shut down, and Charles became increasingly more distant. No more missions, no more X-Men. The plane had become more of a hobby after that.

But now they're back on a mission, Hank feels embarrassed by the decadence. He saw Erik's disapproving sneer as soon as he boarded the plane, and Hank's already bad mood after the news concerning Raven's mother had only worsened, although he had to admit a small smile crossed his face when Peter stopped (actually stopped, walking at normal pace and everything) to admire his handiwork. Peter is just a kid, after all, and Hank feels bad for dragging him into this, even though they couldn't have rescued Erik without him. Especially as Charles and Erik are bound to be at each other's throats about anything and everything.

Sure, Peter is only a year younger than when Hank himself was recruited by as an X-Man, but he was already working for the CIA, and he knew what he was doing. And Hank has realised lately that he's started to get that incurable belief adults have when they believe all teenagers must be stupid, careless and irresponsible. Hank hated this stereotype, having graduated at 15 and all that, and he's a tad ashamed of his judgement.

Also, things here are bound to end up much messier than they did after Cuba.

Hank's subconscious, who been monitoring Erik closely, notifies his conscious thinking that Erik has been pacing up and down the aisle for ten minutes, each minute passing without him saying a word, and Charles becoming more and more irritated. Hank can't see completely clearly how annoyed Charles is; the quality of the camera feeding to the screen in front of him isn't great, but he can guess he's pretty damn annoyed.

 _Lena?_ Hank thinks. The reply is instantaneous. Seems she is on the same wavelength as him.

 _Yes?_

 _What's up with Erik?_

Lena takes a few seconds to reply, and Hank sees her bite her lip and look at Erik anxiously.

 _He's building up to something. He's angry at Charles._ She pauses. _And at me._

Hank sighs.

 _Before we land?_

 _Yes._

Hank sighs again.

 _Can you be ready to put him asleep? I used as little metal as I could when building this plane, but I still had to make the basic frame out of metal._

 _Of course. He won't be happy about it, and it certainly won't help in the long term._

 _But it might save our lives in the short term though._

 _True._

She stands up, and puts a hand on Erik's shoulder. He spins angrily, surprised about being suddenly awoken from his deep thought. She gives him a look, and he knows what it means.

 _Spit it out._

He frowns. Bloody Telepaths.

He feels Charles raise his eyebrows behind him, so he turns away from Lena. He'll start on the worse offender, then move to the lesser one.

He hears Lena make an indignant noise.

He glares at Charles, who, as expected, shrinks away slightly.

"Charles."

"Yes, Erik."

"What about your school?"

"What?" Charles frowns in surprise.

"Your school. I thought that was why you stayed."

Charles rolls his eyes.

"No, Erik. The reason I stayed was because I didn't, and don't believe that mutants should eliminate the human population."

"But we cannot live in peace!" Erik snaps.

"Erik." Lena interrupts. "Now is not the time. Get on with it."

He sends her a glare over his shoulder, and she makes another grumpy noise.

Charles is looking nervous again.

"Your school was meant to help! I accepted the fact that you weren't coming with me, because I thought you were doing good. Then I found out you were ignoring everything." Erik sneers. To his surprise, Charles' eyes flood with anger.

"Ignoring everything was the only option I had."

"People died, Charles! Azazel, Angel, Riptide, Banshee and Emma. People we should have saved, people we should have protected. Think how much they lost because of your idleness!"

"Think how much I lost! I lost my sister, I lost my best friend. I lost my legs. I lost the girl I loved. Did you expect me to just carry on, and shrug it off like it never happened?"

"I expected you to try!"

Charles glares at him, but his head turns away, towards the window, signalling to Erik that the conversation is over.

Erik understands Charles' argument slightly. But Charles shouldn't have let his grief control him like that. He stops a second. _The girl I loved._

So why was she here, instead of beneath the lawn like he thought for eight years. And evidently, like Charles thought as well.

He turns towards her, glaring. She is already glaring back. Bloody telepath.

"So, Lena." She raises her eyebrows at him. "Would you care to explain how you're here, not dead, in fact, very much alive?"

"No." She says. "It doesn't matter now. Basically, not. Dead." She shrugs her shoulders.

A metal knife flies out of a drawer and stops just in front of Lena's face. She closes her eyes; takes a deep breath. She's not used to this anymore. She reads his mind, and finds out with a shudder that he's angry enough to take out her eye, but he's not sure why.

Charles leaps out of his seat, and Erik hears an angry shout from the front of the plane, and Peter sits back in his seat, scared.

"Erik!" Charles yells, and he takes a few steps towards his old friend. "Put the knife down!"

Erik turns his head to look at Charles, and shuts his eyes, regretting his sudden anger. The knife drops to the floor with a clatter, and Lena lets out a sigh of relief, lifting a hand to her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Lena. I don't know what came over me." Erik mutters, and both Lena and Charles blink in surprise. To be honest, Erik doesn't blame them. The Erik they knew would never have apologised for something like that, merely shrugged it off.

She doesn't reply for a few seconds, takes about 5 long, deep breath, then throws her hands, which are now on fire, in the air. Peter sits as far back in his seat as he can.

Hank pokes his head round the corner. The least he can do is spare Peter the mortifying experience of witnessing an argument between three powerful mutants.

"Peter! There's a spare seat here!"

Peter bolts to the front, shutting the door behind him.

Lena glares at Erik, ignoring her flaming hands, and in fact starts waving them about angrily. Erik ducks out of the way.

"Fine. You want to know why I left, when I was still alive? I left because I was pregnant, okay? So whilst you were galavanting about, blowing shit up, and Charles was walled up in Westchester, I was raising a little girl. Happy now?" She snaps, and Erik stares at her in disbelief.

"Bloody hell." He mutters. "Charles..." He says, moving to look at him, but Lena interrupts.

"We've had that conversation already. And I'm sorry about those who died. Believe it or not, I cared about them too. But she came first." She suddenly regrets her outburst slightly.

She extinguishes one of her hands to run it through her hair, calming down slightly now that's she has screamed as much as she needs to. She's still not calm enough though, because when she stops concentrating on not setting her hair on fire, flames cover her hand again. She sighs. It's been ages since she lost control like that.

Erik stands in the aisle, gripping a leather chair for support.

"Lena, I'm sorry." He mutters, failing to look her in the eye.

"Don't mention it." She replies grumpily, trying not to touch anything flammable.

"No, I mean, I'm sorry for being such a jerk before Cuba. And for blowing shit up, as you so aptly described it. It obviously wasn't helpful."

She doesn't reply, but makes a noise that sounds a bit like 'huh, really?'

"What is she called?" Erik asks softly. Lena huffs, but mutters

"Gaia." under her breath.

They stay like that for a few minutes, Charles half out of his seat in anger, Lena waving fire everywhere, Erik in a weird state of shock and guilt.

Logan bangs on the toilet door.

"Have you guys calmed down enough for me to come out yet?"


	19. Chapter 19- Paris

Paris

A/N Hi! Hope you all had a good week!

Mystique surveys the large conference room carefully from where she sits, smugly hidden in plain sight. She lets a satisfied smile cross her face. She could take down the world singlehandedly, and she knows it.

She reclines back in her seat, copying all the habits she witnessed the officer doing last night at the night club. She's meticulous in her planning, and to her immense satisfaction none of the other men have noticed a thing. Mystique doubts even Charles or Erik would notice her now. Her behavioural imitation skills have come on leaps and bounds since she's been working on her own. She supposes she has needed to use them more often.

A small seed of fear plants itself in her thoughts as she remembers the news report she watched in shock yesterday afternoon, a solemn reporter warning the world of the escape of Erik Lensherr from the Pentagon. She doesn't know how he did it, or whether he's come for her. But she's decided, once Trask is dead, she'll go off the radar for a few months, stay away from Erik.

"Are you alright, sir?" A man on her left asks. Mystique forces a nonchalant look back onto her face, inwardly cursing herself for letting her emotions overcome her. Erik always said it could be her downfall.

"Yes, of course." She replies briskly, and the man turns away, seemingly satisfied with her answer. Mystique lets out a small sigh of relief. Looks like she just got away with that one.

[][][][]

Her throat tightens when Trask walks in, a briefcase in his hand. The names of those she is avenging today flash before her, along with the pictures she found in Trask's office, which still make her sick to the very core.

Charles' Raven protests against what she senses Mystique is about to do, and shouts that no matter what Trask did, he doesn't deserve to die!

Erik's Mystique laughs coldly. She has to do this, of course she does.

 **But do you?** Raven asks. **Do you really?**

 **Yes.** Mystique replies grumpily. She thought she'd got rid of Raven's annoying influence.

 **What will it achieve? And of course I'm still here.**

 **Revenge.** Mystique insists, although she can feel her determination slipping away from her. Raven is gaining control.

 **What good will it do?**

Mystique pauses. **Justice, I suppose.**

 **Remember what Charles taught us? Two wrongs don't make a right.**

At the mention of Charles, Mystique regains her iron grip on Raven.

 **Charles doesn't care what I do.**

 **He does. And it's what we do. You often forget that you and I are the same.** Raven muses.

Mystique snarls at Raven. **We are not!**

Mystique sets her forehead in a frown and tightens her jaw, fussing on the man in front of her, the one who will soon be dead by her hands.

Raven sighs.

 **Not if I can help it.**

[][][][]

Erik makes the lock slide back gently, then pulls the door open so that the others can run through quickly before the security camera turns to face them. If there's one thing they don't want, it's a confrontation with the French police. He pulls the doors shut behind them, and they are momentarily plunged into darkness, before two small flames flicker into life, lighting up their faces in a ghostly way.

Lena keeps the flames small, sitting in the palms of her hands, noticing the slightly wary look Peter gives her.

"Alright." Charles says gruffly, still sour from the argument on the plane, just like everybody else. It didn't do much for team spirit. "Lena, go with Peter. You go ahead, try and find Raven. Hank will set off the fire alarm as soon as you've found her. Peter, drop Lena then come back and get myself, Logan and Erik. Can you do that?"

Peter grins.

"Sure thing." He looks towards Lena. "You ready, fire girl?"

Lena laughs.

"Sure."

Peter picks her up then zooms off.

All four men sigh in unison when they realise their planning mistake roughly five seconds later, too back to call them back.

"Anyone know where the light switch is?" Hank asks.

[][][]

Peter stops outside a set of large wooden doors, and leans a slightly travel sick Lena against the wall. Her hands were extinguished by the speed, Peter notes happily as she grips onto his shoulders for support. He likes the shirt he's wearing.

"You're definitely getting faster, Peter." She murmurs, closing her eyes and trying to hold onto her breakfast. She sways slightly.

Peter pats her arm, and gives her a cheery grin.

"I'll be back in a sec."

[][][][]

Charles bangs into another wall, and runs his hands along it, looking for a switch.

"You're telling me that we didn't bring a single flash light?" Logan asks incredulously. He gets no reply, just Hank crying out in pain as he smashes his hands into some sort of metal structure.

The lights turn on suddenly, and they all cry out as it blinds them. Peter looks bemusedly from the doorway.

"How did you find that?" Charles asks. Peter shrugs.

"It's where light switches always are. By the door." Peter replies, ignoring the glares Erik sends him.

Charles looks at his feet, still shielding his face with his hand as his eyes get used to the incredibly bright lights.

"Well, thanks Peter."

"No problem. You coming first?"

Charles nods.

[][][]

Just as Lena regains the ability to stand, there's a silver flash and Charles is dropped into her arms. She tries to prop him up against the wall, just like Peter did with her, but he starts tilting towards the left, and she catches him just before he falls.

"Hey, you okay?" She asks, and he shakes his head.

"Remind me never to do that again." He mutters, turning slightly green.

Lena chuckles.

"Don't worry. It'll only take thirty seconds or so to recover." She tells him.

Charles nods, already feeling the sick feeling float away. His vision clears, and he sees her smiling at him. He automatically smiles back.

He slaps his cheeks, then stands up, automatically reaching up to brush his hair out his face. Lena does the same, only she's successful in her task, and Charles just ends up randomly running his fingers through his hair, it's new length meaning his unable to tuck it behind his ears. He grins sheepishly back at her, and she blushes.

Peter appears again, simply placing Erik on the floor before zooming off again for Logan and Hank.

Neither Charles nor Lena make any move to help Erik up. They stare at the groaning man on the floor until he stops groaning and starts glaring at them instead. Lena laughs.

"Yup, you're fine." She says. She turns to Charles. "I'm going in, to see if she's there."

Charles feels the colour drain away from his face. Like when he was going to find Lena, he hasn't planned what he would say when he got here. How could he sum up quickly what he needs to say? How much he's missed his little sister? That's not an easy thing to say. And anyway, how will he persuade her to come with him? According to Erik and the reports, she could be no longer recognisable as Raven, just cold, determined Mystique.

[][][]

Mystique feels the nerves growling as she builds up to the moment. She hasn't found the right window of opportunity yet, and she hopes it comes soon, because any minute she must just lose it. Get it over and done with.

 **So you don't want to do it?**

Mystique rolls her eyes at Raven's childish attempt to dissuade her.

 **Of course I want to do it. And anyway, it's not about what I want to, it's what I have to do.**

 **Wrong.** Raven snaps. **We always have a choice.**

Mystique feels her temper rising.

 **That sounds like something Charles would say. Get a grip, Raven. He doesn't care anymore.**

Raven stays silent.

Mystique frowns when the door opens by itself, and looks round for open windows through which a gust could have blown. She opens her eyes in surprise, all the windows are closed. Is somebody here for her? She sighs, then springs up from her seat. Best get this over with.

She grins wickedly when Trask looks at her in surprise, stopping midway through his presentation.

"Is there a problem?" He asks icily. Mystique sighs dramatically.

"Yes." She allows her facade to disappear, and relishes in the feeling of being herself once more. Fuelled by the horrified gasps of the other men in the room, she snatches a gun off the person sitting nearest to her, and points it towards Trask.

"Raven!" A voice calls. Mystique ignores it, but Raven starts beating on the locked doors which Mystique hid her behind.

 **Charles!** She screams.

 **It's not Charles, you idiot!** Mystique roars. **He's gone, and he's not coming back!**

She keeps the gun pointing at Trask.

"This is for my friends." She tells the room and herself. She prepares to shoot.

But finds her arms stuck in place. She can't move.

Charles?! She thinks incredulously.

Whilst one half of her rejoices, the other works furiously to throw up her barriers. Mystique grins when she throws off the telepath.

"For gods sake, Raven!" Someone gasps, and the someone appears as though they were invisible out of the corner of her eyes. "Put it down." The someone says.

Raven finds herself in control.

She lowers her arms, not under the control of either Charles or her old friend.

"Lena." She mutters. She smiles sadly. "I'm sorry." She says as Mystique regains strength.

Her arms raise the gun again.

That's when he runs in, the man whose voice she had heard at the start. Older, paler, but definitely him.

"Oh my god." Raven and Mystique say in unison. Both of them lower the gun, throw it on the ground at their feet. "Charles." They say.

Charles sighs in relief when he sees her.

"Raven." He breathes, reaching out to take her hand. She lets him take it, then feels thick tears fall down her face. "I missed you." Charles tells her, but she can barely hear him over the blood rushing in her ears. She's scared, so scared.

"Hello, Mystique." Erik says coldly.

Raven backs away, letting go of Charles' hand and shaking her head. Now that she's seen the look in his eyes, she knows exactly what he means to do. She looks to Charles and Lena, who aren't looking at him.

"Please." She whispers, looking back to Erik. "Erik, please, no."

Charles realises too late what his sister is scared of, and spins to try and stop him. But Erik merely throws him aside, just by shoving his shoulders. Charles jumps back up and starts shouting.

"Raven, go! We'll hold him off."

Raven doesn't need to be told twice, and sprints towards the other end of the room, smashing through the glass. A purple force field slows her descent from the second story window, allowing her to get up quickly and start to run along the street. She shivers at the stares from the crowd on her left and right. Mystique always had this way of turning the stares into positive energy which fueled her, just like she did in the conference room.

 **It really was him.** Raven hears Mystique say incredulously.

 **Yes. It was.** Raven replies smugly. There's a pause before Mystique replies.

 **Do you think we could work together? After all, you'll need my expertise if we're going to survive.**

Raven considers it.

 **Alright.**

 _Raven!_ She hears someone yell. She stops and looks around her before she realises the voice is in her head.

 _Lena?_ She asks. _How are you here?_

 _No time for that now._ Lena's voice sounds strained. _Trask has Aiysha. I don't know where, but you have a way of finding people._

Raven feels Mystique's anger, but also a touch of 'I told you so.'

 **Shut up.** Raven tells her grumpily.

 _Of course._ She tells Lena, but hears no reply.

[][][]

Erik summons the gun towards him as soon as Mystique turns away, sprinting towards the window. He aims to shoot, but the bullet stops in the air mere centimetres after it has left the gun. He blinks, then looks around. Is there another metal bending mutant?

Wait. He focuses on the air surrounding the bullet. Despite Lena's best attempts, it remains slightly purple in colour.

He sighs angrily and turns to her. She sticks her tongue out at him. Then disappears.

Erik frowns, but shoots the metal table legs after her all the same. It won't take long to find her.

The metal grabs her ankle, and he hears a thud, then she becomes visible as she lands on the ground. She gasps in pain, then again in shock as she feels a cold metal rod begin to wrap round her neck.

She pulls on it with her hand, but it doesn't budge.

"Erik." She gasps. "Please. Erik no." Her words echo Mystique's of just minutes ago. Erik almost smiles. He missed this.

Lena sends out her message to Raven, but doesn't get to say her thanks after Raven agrees, all her energy focuses on not losing consciousness. She looks up at Hank.

"Gaia." She gasps.

Hank flies at Erik with an angry roar.

[][][]

Charles goes out into the corridor, then puts a hand on Peter's shoulder. He doesn't wish to do this, but they have no other option.

"Here." Charles says, handing him a credit card. "Take this. Follow her, Raven, and make sure she doesn't notice you, okay? We'll contact you through Lena. If it looks like she's going to make another attempt to kill anyone, you tell us. Send us a warning. Something that will get on the news that we'll see, if we don't contact you before you need to tell us. Got it?"

Peter nods, and blinks in shock. "Quickly." Charles mutters, then closes his eyes.

His fist closes in the empty air.


	20. Chapter 20- New Partners

New partners

A/ N Hi!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel.

The newly assembled team of Raven and Mystique lies down on the hotel room bed, relaxing for the first time in hours, but what seems to them like years.

Raven sighs, and stares up at the cream ceiling.

 **Don't say I told you so.** Mystique tells her tiredly.

Raven smiles.

 **I won't.** She pauses. **But I did.**

Mystique laughs slightly. **What's the plan now?** Raven asks.

 **I thought you were in charge now.** Mystique grins.

 **Yeah,** Raven laughs, **but you're the expert at this sort of thing.**

 **That's true.** Mystique agrees smugly.

She sighs. **I say we relax tonight, then start looking for Aiysha in the morning.**

She feels Raven hesitate, and she frowns. **Look, I know she's your friend, but we'll make mistakes if we're tired. Then we could only increase the danger she's in.**

 **Okay.** Raven says timidly.

 **But first,** Mystique says, **we ask what the silver haired boy wants.**

 **What?** Raven asks in surprise.

Mystique almost rolls her eyes.

 **Come on. Don't tell me you didn't see him trailing us all round Paris?** Raven stays silent. **Huh. Good thing you've got me then. He's over in that cupboard.**

Raven glares at the cupboard, which creaks slightly at the breeze running through the room. She sits up, and leans back on the comfy pillows.

"Hey, you!" She yells. "In the cupboard. I want to talk."

[][][]

The four members of the team, the only ones left, walk silently through the crowded streets of Paris. Charles strides out angrily ahead, lost in a chaos of thoughts and ignoring the concerned looks he received from the other pedestrians. A slightly shaken Logan walks quickly behind him ,debating whether to try and strike up a conversation. Finally, walks Hank, with a still unconscious Lena on his back. There is an angry red strap around her neck, and similar ones round her ankles and wrists. When Hank ripped off the bindings, they were still tightening. Many people stop him, and ask if she's alright, ask if he wants them to call the police and point him in the direction of the nearest hospital. He politely declines all of these offers in perfect French, following Charles to goodness knows where. He hopes Charles knows where he's going.

After fifteen minutes, Charles takes a sharp right and then stops suddenly, blinking in slight surprise at his destination, but happy about it nonetheless. Logan stops behind him, and Hank follows after.

Charles goes up to Lena, and smooths her hair back from her face. She doesn't stir, and he frowns. He feels a sharp knife twist in his stomach. He's seen her like this before.

Hank looks between the pained Charles, the hospital sign, then back at Charles with a sigh.

"Charles, I'm sorry, but we can't take her in there."

Charles looks sharply at him.

"What?"

Hank sighs.

"If they take a blood sample, we could wind up in all sorts of trouble, and Lena in no better condition."

Charles glares at Hank, but Hank is sure the anger is not really at him. He agrees with Hank's logic.

"But..." Charles struggles, desperately looking to Logan for support.

"Hank's right." Logan replies. "We need to get her to the Blackbird.."

Hank nods encouragingly.

"I'll do whatever I can for her."

Charles lifts a hand to his face, and takes a deep breath. Hank and Logan exchange a glance.

"Fine. Alright. Okay." Charles mutters. He looks around. "Where the hell are we?"

Logan shrugs.

"We were just following you."

Charles' eyes widen so much they look like they're about to burst out of his head, and Hank springs forward.

"It's okay, I know this city pretty well. The Blackbird is only a fifteen minute walk from here."

Charles takes another deep breath.

"Okay. Which way?" He feigns relaxation.

"East." Hank replies.

Charles sets off walking. After about ten steps, he stops suddenly, and takes his phone out his pocket. He checks the compass on it, then turns on his heel and walks the other way.

Hank and Logan stare after him.

"He's not waiting for us, is he?" Logan asks.

"Nope." Hank replies, before they both break into a jog in an effort to catch up to Charles, who is waking quickly again.

[][]

Peter freezes when he hears the girl, Raven, call out. She had been silent for hours, although her face showed many emotions, as though a tense debate was going on inside of her head. He thought he'd been pretty good, pretty stealthy, but obviously he was wrong. But what now?

He stays silent and doesn't move.

He hears her sigh, and a voice with slightly more malice speaks.

"Come on, I know you're there."

Peter bites his lip in thought. Could she be a potential ally? There's only one way to find out.

He zips out the cupboard, and perches on the desk opposite the bed on which she's sitting. He grins at her, and she smiles back slightly.

"Why were you following me?" She asks quietly, with a threatening gone that makes Peter want to run out the door as fast as his legs can carry him. What has he got himself into?

Peter maintains the steady grin. Should he mention Charles? Hmm.. Possibly not.

"I want to find my friend." He says confidently after a pause, kicking up his feet so he sits cross legged. He runs a hand through his hair and blows up his cheeks, looking around the room.

She appears amused at his attempts to remain casual.

"And what do I have to do with your friend?"

Peter shrugs.

"I thought you could help me find her. You're the best tracker I've ever seen." This is a lie. Hank told him what Charles could do with Cerebro. But he does need her help, and he needs her to trust him. This mission has two objectives: the one set by Charles, convince Raven to come home, and the one set by Peter himself, find Aiysha.

"Why would I help you?" She frowns at him, sitting up.

Peter clicks his tongue.

"She's your friend too."

She goes slightly pale.

"You're looking for Aiysha James?" She asks.

"The very same."

"Well." She holds out a hand and smiles sweetly at him. He zips to sit in front of her, and shakes her hand. "It looks like we have a deal."

"Deal." He replies, and zooms backwards when he sees himself staring back at him. He returns to his seat on the desk. "Woah." He says.

She changes back to herself, the one he saw first, the pretty blue version with the red hair.

"If you get to show off, why can't I?"

He laughs.

"Fair point."

[][][]

Hank places Lena gently on a seat, and frowns when yet again she doesn't stir. But, the marks are looking a little less red, so that's an improvement, right? He walks through to the cockpit, followed by Charles and Logan.

Logan scans the map framed on the wall, red lines criss-crossing it. All have the same starting point, Westchester mansion, upstate New York.

"We heading back to Westchester?" He asks, and Charles nods, looking towards Hank, who has seated himself in the pilot's seat.

"How much fuel have we got?" He asks uncertainly, looking out the front window towards the airport building.

"Enough." Hank reassures him. "This thing has a massive fuel tank."

Charles nods.

"You did a good job on this plane, Hank. I'm sorry you didn't get to use it as much as you'd have liked to." He looks around regretfully.

Hank stares at him in surprise.

"Charles..." He says. "It's fine."

Charles ignores him.

"I'm sorry, Hank. Sorry for everything."

Hank blinks.

"It's okay."

Charles smiles sadly, and shakes his head slightly.

He leaves, but Hank could swear he hears him mutter,

"It's not though, is it?"

Hank and Logan exchange a glance.

Charles walks out of the cockpit slightly grumpily, but then feels his heart soar. He runs the few steps down the plane to the seat at the end, where a sleepy Lena sits yawning. He kneels down on the floor.

"Lena!" He says happily. "You're alright!" He looks at her neck, which is completely healed. "How?..."

She grins at him.

"Healing factor, remember?"

"But Aiysha heals instantly." He tells her, frowning.

"Yeah, the transferral was a bit dodgy, so I'm asleep for a while whilst it does what it does. But anyway, I'm fine. Stop worrying. " She squeezes his hand, and he looks up at her.

It feels to Charles just like it used to, before it all got ripped away. If only he still had his telepathic powers, then he could tell if she was thinking the same.

 _I do._ He thinks he hears a voice say. But he can't be sure, as suddenly he loses his balance.

The plane starts with a jolt, zooming along the runway, throwing Charles to the side.

"HANK!" They both yell, although they both laugh slightly. Charles grins at her from where he lies on the floor, and she smiles back, green eyes glinting.

Hank peers out of the doorway, and a small smile of relief crosses his face when he sees Lena awake.

"Sorry." He calls apologetically.

Charles looks back at Lena, but the moment is gone; she's looking up at Logan, who is standing awkwardly at the other end of the doorway. Charles looks up at her sadly. Damn this stupid plane for taking off.

Logan clears his throat.

"So, what next?"

Lena laughs.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I really want to give Erik Lensherr a good kick." She grins at them both impishly as Charles picks himself up off of the floor.

Charles and Logan both chuckle.

"I think that can be arranged." Logan says. "We just need to find him first."

 _Cerebro._ Charles thinks. He looks down at his legs.


	21. Chapter 21- Brave Man

Brave Man

A/ N Hi, so this chapter is another song fic, based on the song 'Brave Man' by Will Young. I hope you like it. Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! And, it's been a year since I started writing these. Time has flown, hasn't it?

Charles is vaguely aware of voices shouting his name, but the pain in his legs is so strong he can't begin to focus on anything else. He cries out, and closes his eyes to stop the flashing bolts of pain which cause black spots to appear in his vision. He remains standing for as long as possible, but soon his legs give in and he crashes to the floor.

He senses a two pairs of hands sitting him up against a wall, his legs outstretched before him, and a pair of footsteps retreating, yelling that's he's missed a dose. Charles slaps his hands to his face, groaning. It hurts; he had forgotten how much it hurts.

 **See these scars of these years gone by?**

Old scars, reopening with this new suicidal mission he's got himself into. Old wars restarted: his conflict with Erik, with Raven, his legs and his love for Lena.

 **Aches and pains each took it out there bursting out these pores.**

He swears, and many memories just like this come back to him. Evenings spent drinking, with pent up frustration at his legs, and taking it out on anyway stupid enough to come near, who normally turned out to be Hank. However, he digs up other memories as well.

He sees Alex, Aiysha and Hank playing snap. Then all three of them teaching a set of young mutants their alphabet. Moira spilling coffee all over the carpet. Raven the night he met her. Erik raising a toast, and Lena sipping hot chocolate by the fire.

 **I met strangers to become my friends.**

Those were good days, he thinks. He wishes Alex would come back; the mansion has seemed devoid of laughter since he left. He wishes Alex were back to tease Hank, and bake biscuits for Aiysha.

 _Aiysha._

Yet another thing to add to the mountainous pile weighing down on his conscience. But, he realises, he could still save her. All is not lost.

 **Draw up the horses, spears at the ready, I'm not afraid to fight the war.**

He just has to take it one step at a time. He'll find Aiysha, apologise to Raven, punch Erik and then rebuild the school. Hank can teach, Alex will come back and maybe Charles will help him plan the wedding he heard Alex discussing with Hank.

 **Together we'll shine, on this battlefield.**

He finds comfort in this new plan.

A hand grips his, and he realises he's forgotten someone.

What will he do in regards to Lena? His brain starts to overload again, but some small part manages to cling on to rational decision making, and tell the rest of him to _calm down._

He knows he loves her, but is not so sure if those feelings are returned. He feels sick when he thinks of being without her again. _Whether she loves you or not doesn't matter,_ his mind tells him, _it matters if you take care of your daughter._ Of course, Gaia. He must love and cherish Gaia.

He adds 'be a good dad' to his list of jobs. Right. He can do this.

Then, of course, as the serum's effects continue to dwindle, the voices return. Only three, but he screams in agony nonetheless.

He hears Logan wondering if he's made a difference at all. _Of course you have,_ Charles wants to yell, _you changed me._

Hanks feverish thoughts, panicking to see if Charles is alright. Charles almost smiles. What would he do without Hank?

He sees Hank hold out the syringe.

 _No._ He hears the third voice think. Charles looks to his left, and his heart sinks. She looks disappointed.

 **I'm not afraid to fight the war.**

Charles pushes away the syringe, and four pairs of eyes watch it crash to the floor in surprise. Charles looks at the hope in her eyes, then down at his burning legs.

 **See these scar, of these years gone by? They don't hurt me, just remind me I can cry.**

He's cried, he's cried plenty, but now he has a chance to put all that behind him. Simple steps, that is all it will take.

 **I'm a brave man, running through the rain.**

He winced as sweat pours down his face. She smiles softly.

 **I'm a brave man, not scared to feel the pain.**

Charles finally manages to control his mind enough to send a single word to all three minds.

 _Wheelchair._

They all look at him in surprise.

 **Not afraid to tumble.**

 **Not afraid to fall.**


	22. Chapter 22- Cerebro

Cerebro

A/N Hi! Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter :-)

"There's still no word from Peter." Charles announces anxiously, switching off the news and biting his lip. Logan frowns, walking in the door with two mugs of coffee, the second of which eh hands to Charles. Charles knocks it back in one, and Logan raises his eyebrows.

"I hope the kid is okay." Logan frowns.

Hank sighs, as he realises the only option they have left. He looks at the professor.

"Charles?" He asks. Charles understands the unanswered question, and rubs his forehead whilst trying figure out a response.

"I'm not sure." He replies sadly, and Hank lowers his gaze to the floor, disappointed.

"Come on, Charles." Lena says. "You've been coming on leaps and bounds the past few days."

"She's right." Logan backs her up. "And we don't have any other options."

Charles frowns.

"You're a telepath too!" He says grumpily, gesturing towards her. "You could use it just as easily."

"Uh, no way." She replies, as Charles knew she would. She looks angry, and he looks at the floor guiltily. Her face and voice softens. "Hank designed it for you to use, and anyway, you're trained at using it."

Charles sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose. He knows all three are now looking at him expectantly.

"Fine." He mutters, throwing his hands in the air.

Hank smiles. The old professor is returning.

[][][]

Hank lowers the helmet onto Charles' head uncertainly, then switches on Cerebro. The lights on the walls glow, and the readings swing violently, until Charles takes a deep breath and they level out.

The other three stand awkwardly behind him, gaping around at the figures projected there by Charles' mind. Mutants glow, brighter than the rest, and their voices can be heard over shouts of humans. There's cries of pain, anger, pity and only the odd sound of laughter.

Charles' hands tighten on the arms of his chair. So much pain, and he does _nothing._

He lets out a roar, and feels his will collapse as the dials explode. He's not in control, he's not up to this, how could he ever think that he would be?

The lights go off as Charles rips off the helmet, and puts it back on the desk in front of him.

A silence falls.

Charles can't bear to turn around, to look at the ones whom he has let down, especially poor Hank. Hank, who always had so much faith.

Charles feels a tear fall down his face. He puts his head in his hands.

Hank looks between a shocked Lena and a determined Logan.

Logan nudges his arm.

"Let me speak to him." He mutters, and Hank nods, and him and Lena walk off, Hank claiming to want to turn to the power back on.

Lena follows Hank up to the control room, and sits down on the desk whilst Hank fiddles with switches in an attempt to override the system shut down at the sudden influx of energy.

She puts her hands on her forehead.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" She asks, and Hank sighs.

"Honestly? I don't know." He frowns. "I'd like to think so, but the part of me doubting him is growing stronger."

"He was making so much progress."

"I know. I shouldn't have pushed him." Hank moans.

"Hank. Look at me." He does so. " don't blame yourself. You've done so much for that man, and I know he's grateful for everything." She gives him a kind smile, and he can't help smiling back.

"How do you know?" He asks, though the answer comes to him as soon as he asks it.

Lena taps her head, and Hank grins.

"Of course." He pauses. "But what if I did push him too far?" His grin fades. It's _his_ fault.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. He won't hold you guilty for anything, and neither should you."

She sighs. "I should go talk to him."

"Okay. Will you send Logan here?" Hank asks.

[][][]

Charles stares at Logan, bringing down his fingers from his temple. What he's just seen... Man, it makes him feel glad to be alive. He has hope, so much hope.

"Thank you." Charles says quietly, and Logan shoots him a small smile, standing up.

Charles doesn't notice Logan has gone until he sees Lena standing in front of him. His mind is swimming with plans and ideas, encouraged by the advice he (some how) gave himself. He knows what he has to do.

She smiles, and his attention is drawn away from his frantic mind and towards her.

"Hey." She says.

"Hey."

"Are you okay?" She asks, and Charles smiles.

"Yeah, alright." He replies. He wants to show her, especially the blue eyed girl he saw sitting on the other side of the room. But there was no sign of her. Logan already said she didn't make it. Charles places up his barriers gently.

She nods.

"Good."

Charles takes a deep breath in.

"Listen," he says, and she looks at him curiously, "I just wanted to say thanks. For encouraging me. And to ask you, when this is over, to help me rebuild the school. Goodness knows I'll need help, Hank and Alex are good at destroying things but not so great at rebuilding them." He doesn't look at her as he speaks. "Your.. I mean our.. Daughter could come here. She'd have a place, and I'd love to get to know her." He feels a weight lift off of his shoulders, and sneaks a look at her.

She's crying, but a wide grin is spreading slowly over her face. She notices him looking at her and chuckles, blushing, and wipes away a tear from her cheek.

"I'd love to help. And I'm sure Gaia will be very happy here."

"Thank you." He says.

He pulls her hand so that she is kneeling down in front of him, then puts his hand on her cheek. She smiles.

"I missed you so much." He mutters, before kissing her.

She kisses back, smiling.

"I missed you too."

[][][]

"Okay, so this is number one on our list?" Peter asks, leaning against the door casually, whilst Raven disables the alarm system. He looks around for security guards, and grins to himself when he sees the empty side street. If only his friends back home could see him now, breaking into a secure facility in Toulouse.

"Yes."

"Chances of Aiysha being here?"

"Slim."

"Right, okay. Just wanted to know before we broke in."

There's a beep, and Raven smiles. Peter picks her up.

"Let's go." He says, opening the door and zooming inside.

He drops off Raven in the main office, so that she can scout for information, and then sets off to look for cells. His search comes up empty, all cells bare of mutants, but when he returns to Raven it is obvious her search has not.

She stares at her shaking hands, in which is clasped a folder. He reads the piece of paper she shows him, then his face loses all colour, and he looks at her with genuine fear in his eyes.

"What do we do?" He asks, suddenly wanting to go home to school and normality(ish). She takes a deep breath, still shaking.

"We tell Charles."


	23. Chapter 23- Code

Code

A/N Hi! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter :-)

 **Breaking News: Inhabitants of the French city of Toulouse were given a shock this morning when they woke up to find their city covered by thousands, maybe millions, of pieces of paper which were pinned up over night. These papers cover the outside of all the buildings in the centre of the city, and all have the same message, 424 FAY. The country's leading cryptographers are currently working on decoding this message, and police in major French cities have been put on alert.**

Charles switches off the radio with a click.

"Well, he's got our attention alright." He sighs, and rubs his forehead. "424 FAY. If only I knew what it meant." He mutters.

At that moment, Hank runs in, throwing himself into a chair behind the desk. He's clutching a small black notebook, which he flips through quickly.

"Have you heard?" Charles asks, not expecting to get an answer. Hank nods, frowning as he looks between two pages. Charles and Logan exchange a look.

"What are you looking for?" Lena tries, as Hank opens the book around half way through, then pulls a pen out his pocket. He ignores her question completely, and begins to scrawl something on the back of his hand.

He throws down the pen on the desk and starts looking through the notebook again. Charles scowls at him, and tries in vain to read the thin line of ink trailing over the back of Hank's hand.

Hank throws his pen down for a second time and announces that they need to be at the White House in two days.

He jumps up, but is frozen mid sprint by an iron grip on his mind.

 _Hank._ Charles' irritated voice says, _please sit down and explain._ He continues more kindly.

Hank blushes, and sits down sheepishly. He taps the table anxiously, feeling the weight of all three gazes.

"It's a code." He says. "Numbers mean location, letters the date." He gestures to the book. "That's the translation book. We used to use them on missions that went wrong." He shrugs. "It was Alex's idea." He says with a smile.

Charles frowns, and stares at the book, which he's never seen before in his life.

"When did you have time to teach Peter this?" He asks.

"When we were on the plane." Hank explains. "I gave him a copy of the list, just in case. I wanted to be prepared for everything."

Charles nods.

"Thank you, Hank."

"And so that's what it means?" Logan asks. "Whatever they found comes to a summit in Washington on Wednesday?"

"Yeah." Hank says. "I wish we had more time, I won't be able to make any suits in time. We'll have to make do with the equipment and kit we have." He frowns, and seems to start running a mental list of things to prepare.

Logan laughs, and shake his head.

"Good. You're not getting me in a suit." He grins.

[][][][]

Trask opens the PowerPoint presentation with a simple explanation of how mutants came about. He smiles smugly at the shock that passes over the faces of the important looking men in suits sitting in uncomfortable chairs in front of him, then feels a sense of satisfaction pass over him when somebody asks him to provide evidence of this. He clicks the button to show his next slide, which has a video on it.

"Shall I play?" He asks, and a few curious but uncertain looks get thrown his way. Somebody nods, and he clicks the mouse again.

The video is of a young woman, tied to a chair with her messy white blonde hair falling down around her face. The men watch as a figure in a mask takes a knife and cuts the woman's arm. She winces, but seconds later the cut heals over, skin smooth as if it was never there. A collective gasp travels around the small conference room. The figure cuts her again, and again she heals.

Trask clicks the video into pause, freezing the image with the woman in pain, and turns back to the table.

"This mutant goes by the name Aiysha James. She has the ability to heal as soon as she is wounded. We also suspect her of having premonitions in her dreams, as she often wakes from nightmares screaming about fire and death, and scratching dates into the walls of her cell."

He smiles sadly at the shocked men in suits.

"Imagine that, gentlemen. An enemy you cannot kill." He pauses for breath. "Except we can kill her. My Sentinel program will tear this girl, and her kind, apart."

"How do you know?"

The question is like music to Trask's ears. How long has he waited for this moment? Too long.

"It's been tested." He replies, and an agreeing murmur goes around the room. "Give me two days, and the girl will die."

"Two days, Trask. No more."

"I promise, it shall be ready."

"We shall show the world we can protect it from the threat shown by the mutant population." An important looking man says confidently. "And we shall begin with the death of that... That thing." He points to the woman.

No one protests, just nod and murmur agreeably. _Perfect._ Trask thinks. He'd never imagined it to be this easy.

Trask nods, pretending he's not in full control. He doesn't suspect they'd trust him if they knew how much power he had over the future of the world now.

"Of course."

[][][]

The words seep into Erik's ears like poison, making him huff angrily. Although he is miles away, listening through a well placed microphone in the conference room , he feels as if his rage is so strong he could zap right there and strangle the life out of them all. He clenches his fist. These people need to be told a lesson.

He checks the calendar, and a world map. He can reach Washington in time to save Aiysha. And that code all over Toulouse, Erik recognises snatches of conversation between the X-Men before they stopped fighting, so Charles must know by now.

He grits his teeth. He must make more of an impact than Charles, who will no doubt try to persuade everyone that mutants and humans can live side by side, spouting all his wishy washy happiness. _Ugh._ Erik rolls his eyes. If only Charles would see.

He'll show what mutants are _really_ capable of.


	24. Chapter 24-We Might As Well Be Strangers

We Might As Well Be Strangers

A/N Hi, and sorry about the really long time between updates, I've been super busy, so sorry again! Hope you like this chapter, and thank you for reading.

Charles sits in front of Cerebro nervously, preparing for one last search for Peter and answers. He hopes he'll find something, anything, to prepare him for the upcoming day. Even Hank's superior hacking skills have turned up nothing, and his continued failures to contact Peter or Raven have heightened his nerves. It's one thing preparing to fight mutant killing robots, and quite another to fight them when you don't know all the variables.

He puts on the helmet, checking over his shoulder for the thousandth time just in case one of the others followed him down there. As the checks before this one told him, no one is there.

Charles takes a deep breath in an flicks the dials in the way he saw Hank do it. He doesn't think Hank knows about Charles' ability to turn on Cerebro, and he doesn't want him to either. Hank is rather protective about that kind of thing, and Charles can't really blame him either. Charles does have a tendency to break things in Hank's lab, so much so he's been banned there since he met him.

Like always, Charles gasps at the sudden lack of boundaries around his mind, and the endless stream of thoughts spreading in every direction, at the tips of his fingers, right in his grasp.

He doesn't waste any time, and starts searching for either Peter or Raven.

He searches unsuccessfully for five minutes, until he hears a voice shouting his name, and his focus is drawn to it like a magnet.

 _Erik._ He replies in soft surprise.

He feels Erik jump up, shocked by Charles' sudden appearance. A quick dip into Erik's thoughts tells Charles that Erik has been trying to get his attention for many hours.

 _Charles!_ Erik yells again, and Charles replies in the positive to let Erik know he's there. He feels many emotions flowing off of him in tidal wives, anger and sadness and exhaustion.

 _We have to work together, Charles._ Erik says, and Charles blinks in surprise. That is the last thing he expected to hear from his old friend. He's surprised at his own response as well.

 _Why?_ Charles asks, and he feels Erik falter; he wasn't expecting that.

 _I know Trask's plans._ Erik replies. _We have to stop him._

 _Yes, we do. But my way, Erik._

Erik snarls.

 _Your way will not work, Charles! When will you see that?_

 _Never._ Charles thinks simply. _Mutants and humans can live in harmony, and nothing you will ever say will convince me of that._

 _But we will be stronger together!_ Erik yells, feeling rage building up inside him.

 _Undoubtedly._ _But we are not fighting a war._

 _Yes, we are! Charles, you don't understand!_

 _What is it I do not understand?_

Erik pauses, and Charles senses something weighing on his mind.

 _Charles..._ Erik says quietly. _They mean to kill Aiysha._

Charles does not reply for a few seconds, trying to find some way of dealing with this information.

 _Erik, I must go._ He says hastily, already trying to think of ways to tell his team, who care about Aiysha greatly, the seriousness of what is to come.

 _No!_ Erik yells, with such force that Charles ceases in his preparation, and turns his focus back to him.

 _Charles, please, old friend. We must fight together._ Erik insists.

 _No, we must not fight at all._

 _Old friend..._ Erik says sadly. _When did you change? We used to be so similar. What went wrong? Surely we should still be together._

Charles sighs.

 _I'm sorry, Erik. But we might as well be strangers._

Erik feels a single tear roll down his cheek, knowing he may be soon fighting his friend again.

 _Goodbye, Charles._

 _Goodbye, old friend._


	25. Chapter 25- Back to the Future

Back to the Future

A/N Hi, hope you all had a good week! Thanks for reading :-) I'm sorry these past chapters have been quite short, but I've been pretty busy and I promise the next chapters will be longer, as they'll be the big event in Washington (yay!)

Logan looks up when a nervous Hank enters, having put the plane into autopilot for the rest of the relatively short flight. He knows he has to say something. Poor lad looks like he's about to be sick on his feet.

"You know, it's worth it. What we're doing." Logan says. The three others all look up at him in surprise. "Professor." Charles tilts his head, interested. "Your students, your school. It's fantastic, a haven for mutants. You have to find us all. Bobby, Ohoro, Scott."

"Doesn't Alex have a little brother called Scott?" Hank interrupts. Logan nods.

"Alex brought him to the school when he was 15." He pauses. "Hank, you're one of the best scientists the mutant world has seen, and one of the best teachers at Xavier's. And Lena." He looks at her. "I never knew you, but I know your daughter."

"Gaia? How?"

Logan laughs.

"She came to Xavier's in her early twenties. Talented girl, very bright. Good member of the X-Men."

Charles blinks.

"I let my own daughter onto the team?" He doesn't think he'd ever want to endanger another member of his family again. Logan looks at his shoes.

"You.. Er.. Well..." Logan mumbles, and Charles raises his eyebrows.

"I what?" He asks, already fearing the answer.

"You didn't know she was your daughter."

"Oh my gosh!" Charles yells, slapping his forehead. "I hate my future self almost as much as my past one."

Lena rubs his shoulder.

"Hey, now you get a second chance, Professor Useless." She grins

Charles chuckles slightly.

"Thank goodness."

[][][][]

All the X-Men shudder as they begin to hear the drone of Sentinels in the sky. They're still miles away, but they begin to prepare their feeble defences.

A thick forest grows high, extra trees sprouting from the ground and filling the valley, forcing the Sentinels to take a different path.

A barrier of water rises up around the run down shelter, crackling with lightning.

A combination of forces between Lorna and Magneto sends the run down fences covering all openings, giving extra support to the structure.

And most importantly, a number of realistic, but holographic figures appear on the hillside, sheltering behind a large rock but plainly in view of the Sentinels before they see the building and it's defences.

Charles sends a smile to his youngest recruit, truly proud of how she's grown up these past months. Of course, he wishes she'd never have had to, but he's proud all the same.

He looks towards Gaia, whom he's even prouder of. Of course, there's that little niggling guilt, but her constant smile keeps that at bay.

He finally looks towards the sleeping, through which he just spoke to his past self. He tried to pass on his wisdom, and he hoped he succeeded. That man, he was so scared, so upset and lost, he barely recognised it as himself.

He hopes younger Charles completes the task he set him.

Scott, who was overseeing the defences, returns to the room, and gives the Professor a solemn nod. Charles smiles at him.

They're ready, if Logan can change the future soon.

After that, he's not sure what they can do.

[][][][]

Hank laughs when Logan tells him about the time Alex blew up the kitchen trying to bake a cake for Charles's birthday.

Charles grins, but finds his mind unable to focus on anything except the coming battle. His eyes drift over to Lena, who stares out the window.

 _Hey._ He says, without even realising. He sees her smile, and she replies instantly.

 _Hi._

Charles takes a deep breath as he works out what he wants to say.

 _So, you nervous?_ She asks, interrupting his thoughts.

 _A bit._ He replies honestly. _But it should be fine._

 _If you say so._ She laughs slightly, and shakes her head.

 _Listen, Lena._

 _Yes?_ She answers curiously, still looking at the passing clouds.

 _I know that last time was different, but.._ He takes a deep breath in. _Please be careful. I want... I mean... I need you to stay with me. You stay safe, alright?_ He looks up and sees that she's staring right at him. He somehow manages to spit out the words he's been trying to say all along. _I can't lose you again._

She gasps.

 _Okay._ She replies. _I promise. But you do the same. I can't lose you either._

Charles laughs, and smiles. She smiles back.

Hank and Logan exchange a glance, and Logan repeats a phrase he picked up off of Erik in their brief time spent together.

"Bloody Telepaths." He mutters, and Hank nods in agreement.


	26. Chapter 26- Deciding(1)

Deciding (1)

A/N Hi! Again I apologise for irregular chapter posting, I'm sorry! Have a good Easter, and thanks for reading.

Charles, Logan, and Hank enter the enclosed area on the vast green lawn cautiously, all scanning the crowd for any sight of Raven or Peter. They don't really expect to spot them, of course, one being faster than a bullet, and the other having the potential to be any of the people in the large crowd before them.

The lawn is overflowing with people, much more than they predicted, and factored into their hasty, brief plan, and will make their lives infinitely more complicated. Charles' eyes and mind are also frantically searching for any sign of Erik, and he grows more restless with every passing minute that his old friend is absent.

He tries to keep these constant worries from the mind of Lena, who is invisibly weaving her way through the crowds with difficulty, but she hears them anyway, and tries her best to comfort him.

 _We'll find him, Charles. Don't worry._

He doesn't reply, just constantly flicks his vision between her eyes and his own until she snaps at him to search through the eyes of crowd members.

He takes her advice, and after another five minutes, as Trask appears on stage, he hears a voice, her voice.

 _This is for you, my mutant brothers and sisters._

Charles freezes Raven without hesitation, then gasps as two large bodyguards drag on Aiysha.

Her white blond curls, which used to hang down to her elbows, have been roughly chopped to her chin, and have streaks of dirt running through them. She's thinner than Charles ever remembers her being, even when he found her, and the normally present smile turning up the corners of her mouth looks like it has been absent for days.

He hears Hank gasp, and grabs the arm of the young man before he can run towards the stage.

Hank blinks back tears, although he's relieved when Charles stops him from moving. He's not completely sure what his plan was, but he's pretty sure it was something stupid.

"Charles." He says sadly as all his worst fears come true as he sees a bruise leak out from her shirt collar, "they've found a way to hurt her that her mutation doesn't heal."

Charles nods in solemn recognition.

Hank hears Charles' voice in his head.

 _Lena has Raven._

Hank nods, and checks that off of his mental to-do list. One step down, perhaps 100 to go.

"Hi." A voice says suddenly from behind him and Logan.

"Hey, kid." Logan replies. "It's good to see you."

Peter doesn't reply, or smile, just indicates towards the stage.

"Here's the plan."

[][][]

Eventually, Raven agrees to follow Peter's plan, and is released gently from Lena's iron grip. She walks casually through the crowds, still in the guise of the CIA Agent, as she figures it'll open the most doors. Even so, Charles knows the slightly sarcastic look on her face belongs to his sister.

Peter has explained her role, with a little bit of input from Hank, so she follows her instructions.

When she'd asked if she had back up, a grin and a voice appeared out of no where.

"Of course."

[][][]

Charles rubs his forehead anxiously as he continues the search for Erik. Trask's speech is coming to a close, and although no one has said it out loud, all the mutants are painfully aware that Aiysha's execution will follow shortly afterwards. He knows that Erik would never miss this, especially now that he knows of Charles' involvement after their conversation yesterday. If there's something Erik will always turn up to, it's a chance to prove Charles wrong and persuade him to join Erik's so-called 'Brotherhood'. From the brief information told to him by Raven only minutes before, the Brotherhood is small but strong, and not something Charles particularly wants to be on the wrong side of. However, Raven said she has no reason to believe any Brotherhood members would get involved, as staying in contact was difficult after Erik's arrest.

Even so, Charles broadens his search to include known Brotherhood members, just in case Erik managed to track them down and turn them to his cause.

Suddenly, there's a rumble, and the creaking and groaning of metal that makes all of Charles' worst fears come true. It saves Peter a job though, he supposes, as he sees that the President and his entourage, including Trask, interrupted mid speech, are heading towards the secret bunker Hank located when doing desperate background research/hacking to try and find anything to boost their plan.

Charles spots Erik as soon as he spots the _massive flying stadium._

Logan sighs.

"Has he always been this dramatic?" He asks.

"Yes." Charles and Hank both reply sullenly.

[][][]

When Erik arrives, causing wide spread panic, Raven almost gives away her cover, as it takes everything she has not to scream down the stadium with her frustration. She's not Banshee, but she probably could have managed it anyway. Of course, she should have known he'd show his face, but she really could have done without it today.

She has more than a few things to think about, without the possibility of her ex-boyfriend trying to kill her, which he'll probably try to do, even if his main reason for being here is to rescue Aiysha. Erik may be brutal, possibly even mad, but he's not so far gone that he would let an innocent mutant die, not when he knows that he can do something about it.

 _So?_ Raven thinks grumpily. _What did I do, Erik?_

She almost tears her hair out when the President, Trask and all the suited men run into a bunker which is clearly made of metal. Controllable, pliable, metal. What would happen if Erik decides killing Trask isn't enough, and just made the bunker fold in on itself?

She gulps. For the plan to work, she has to go into that thing and put herself utterly at the mercy of Erik.

A quick tap on her elbow reminds her of her job, and kicks her legs back into action so that she runs into the bunker just as a burly bodyguard pulls the door closed.

Raven takes a deep breath as she looks around. Her gaze falls on Trask, who, only looks slightly shaken, and Mystique mutters a few words.

 **It'd be so easy to just kill him now.**

Raven ignores her, though with some difficulty. Her stomach turns with the fact that she's under orders to protect him. Charles' Raven and Erik's Mystique glare at each other, both wondering what the best cause of action is.

Both wonder want to punish Trask, one wonders if it's truly necessary to take his life, but for now they follow the instructions of Peter Maximoff.

[][][]

Aiysha feels herself being shoved into a corner, and shrinks into the cold metal. _Metal._

She jumps back, already scared of the inanimate walls. She's wearing a blindfold, so she couldn't see Erik, but heard the tell tale creaking of metal all the X-Men have come to associate with Magneto. He may be coming for her sake, or so she hopes, but his methods have always been a step or two over the line Aiysha calls 'acceptable'. She hopes he is working with Charles and the others, who she hopes with all her head are here.

She jumps as a hand touches hers. She plucks up the courage to move the blindfold slightly, but the space in front of her is empty. Could it be? She barely wants to hope, just in case she's crushed again.

During her imprisonment, she couldn't count the times she thought she felt an invisible hand, or saw a silver blur or a tuft of blue fur. She thought be might be going mad, especially after she spotted what she thought was red light accompanied by a familiar burning smell. That moment crushed her more than anything else.

Then somebody squeezes her hand, and a piece of paper is pushed into her fist. Before she reads it, she thinks her question.

 _Lena?_ Her breath stops whilst she waits the second for the answer.

 _I'm here._

[][][]

After delivering Peter's message to Aiysha, Lena returns to stand beside Raven at the edge of the bunker. The paper message was Hank's idea; he quite rightly pointed out that after all she'd been through, she might not believe she rescue mission told to her in her mind. Hank also shakily explained that he feared that Trask seemed to have found a way of hurting Aiysha that her mutation couldn't heal.

Lena looks once more at her friend, who is furtively reading the message from Peter which briefly explains his plan. It's a good plan, Lena thinks, but she agrees with the comment Charles made to her. Peter's plan is not watertight by any stretch of the imagination, and lacks the experience of actual combat that a detailed plan by Hank would.

The few tweaks made by Hank before they all separated had helped, but they all silently noted that they would have to be prepared for a bit of improvisation.


	27. Chapter 27- Deciding(2)

A/N Hi! Sorry again for the really long gaps between chapters; I've been revising for exams. Hope all of you are having a good week :-) Thanks for reading! Also, sorry about the cliffhangers, I can't seem to stop myself putting them in.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel

Trask sits in the bunker, repeating his faith in the Sentinel's ability to protect them to the assembled men in suits for what feels like the fiftieth time. He gets that the men are scared, what they witnessed out there was obviously the work of a mutant. Who else could move the stadium like that?

If he's honest, Trask sees this as a golden opportunity to prove his point. He knows many are skeptical of his plans, so here he can prove the program's usefulness, effectiveness, and most importantly it's necessity to the population.

He only begins to feel scared when he hears screams outside and the sound of guns firing, the guns of his Sentinels. Then his mind is dragged away to other matters, when the bunker lifts up in the air. He hears the floor rip apart above them, and it spins, throwing them all against each other, the chairs and the walls.

He hears a squeak, and sees the random guy over there hit his hand against mid air then stare at the space. Trask narrows his eyes. Perhaps the metal bending mutant from Paris isn't the only threat today.

Just then, the bunker lands with a load thud, and the front wall rips off, exposing the scene before them.

[][][][]

Charles throws himself out of his wheelchair as the front wall of the bunker flies towards him.

"ERIK!" He yells, but no reply from the drama queen. Hank runs towards him, but Charles motions at him to stay back.

 _I'm fine._ He tells Hank. Hank gives him a look as if to say _really, Charles?,_ so Charles just rolls his eyes and tells him to keep an eye on Erik.

Once he's got his breath back, he manages to push himself up onto his elbows to get a clearer view of what's going on. He sees Erik floating towards the bunker that contains three mutants, only one of which Erik is aware of. Charles feels a dagger twist in his stomach when he realises the Sentinels are under the control of Erik. _Idiots._ He thinks. _Could they not find any substitute for metal?_ He wonders if Erik will make the guns on the arms of the large robots open fire on the assembled crowd watching him, terrified, from the bunker.

He hopes not.

Well, he thinks, Erik's certainly got what he wanted. The whole world cowering before him, with nobody to stop him. Unless, of course, the plan of a 16 year old kleptomaniac can save them all. Charles sighs. Even his new sense of optimism has go to admit that this is unlikely.

Speaking of Peter, where is he?

Charles looks around himself worriedly, attempting to push himself further up to get a better view. No sign of Peter.

Then he spots him, a silver blur who jumps into the bunker and then out again. When he comes out, he's carrying a small person who has to be Aiysha, and he drops her on the grass beside Hank. They both kneel down besides her, and she hugs them both.

Charles realises the loophole in Peter's plan at the exact moment Logan does. Erik doesn't know of the remaining mutants in the bunker, and with that in mind, now that Erik has seen Aiysha is out, he's looking at a metal box of inferior humans who planned to kill him and his kind. Not to mention he has robots with large automatic guns.

Charles doesn't blame Peter for not knowing of Erik's nature, but wishes he'd seen it himself sooner.

Logan turns his head to Charles, panic clear.

 _Do it._ Charles says. _Please._

[][][][]

Trask watches with growing dread as the caped mutant floats in front of him. Now the wall has been removed, nothing protects him from his own Sentinels, robots that he built to protect him but are now doing anything but.

The grey haired teen Trask saw watching from outside, who has to be a mutant, vanishes and reappears beside the girl known as Aiysha. Teleporter? No, Trask distinctly saw a blur pass through the bunker. No one lifts a finger to stop him as he picks up the girl and runs out the bunker again, stopping outside on the lawn beside the blue furry man. Their safety net, the only thing stopping the mutant outside opening fire on them, is gone.

Trask feels the hate swell again. Mutants. Saving their own kind without a second thought for the others.

He looks up at the caped man.

The man waves a hand, and the guns Trask painstakingly built into the arms of his Sentinels open fire, spraying the crowd in the bunker with bullets. Or, that's what should be happening. However, although Trask ducks against the impact of hundreds of bullets hitting him at once, as do many other, no bullets hit.

He hears a groan of effort, and opens his eyes to see the bullets bouncing away as if they were hitting glass. But what are they hitting? He sees a purple shimmer.

Another mutant?

He looks around, and narrows his eyes. A woman with brown hair has her hands out in front of her, her face contorted with effort.

The bullet shower stops, and Trask looks around to see if the caped mutant is trying to save his fellow freak. He opens his mouth in shock when he sees a large man with claws protruding from his knuckles jump up in the air, and tackle the metal bending mutant round the waist. With the element of surprise on his side, the large man manages to knock the other to the ground, and with his control relinquished, the Sentinels drop, and stop firing towards the bunker.

A deep breath behind him and the vanish of the purple screen draws his attention back to the woman, and she draws the attention of many others as well. They all stare at her, and she vanishes.

The courage of the men has returned with the loss of threat from the mutant outside, and the man nearest to her grabs something, and they hear a cry of pain. She becomes visible again, and is held by her ponytail. She looks scared, but mostly pissed off. She keeps shooting glares in the direction of the lawn outside.

A second man raises the pistol in his hand, and a third looks to the President for conformation. Before the President can do anything, however, an agent from the back of the room steps forwards, his eyes open in panic.

He raises a hand.

"Mr President, may I offer you my opinion in this matter?" His eyes flick to the mutant and back again.

The President nods to him, a gesture for him to proceed. "I think killing this woman is a little rash. She did just save our lifes, after all." He stands up straighter, and nods. "It'd be unfair of us to condemn her without any evidence that she meant to do us harm, sir."

The President frowns, thinking.

"I think you are right." He nods at the other men, who lower the gun and let go of the mutant. She relaxes, and shoots a grateful look to the agent who spoke out. A look of familiarity.

Trask has an idea. He takes out his detector, which, although the Sentinels have been corrupted by Lensherr (Trask thinks that is the man's name anyway), still works, and switches it on. Everyone looks at him as he walks towards the agent, who exchanges a look with the known mutant. As expected, the detector beeps when Trask passes the woman, but he keeps walking.

It keeps beeping, and Trask gets the conformation he required. The man who was ready to shoot the woman seconds earlier catches Trask's train of thought, and aims the gun instead at the agent, who pales.

That is, until the agent's skin shifts and standing before them is the blue woman from Paris, the woman who's blood Trask desperately needs. Trask smiles.

Until the blue woman yells,

"LENA! NOW!" And something smacks Trask against the wall. It felt like a hand, but the woman was too far away. So what was it?

[][][]

Erik lands on the ground, Logan on top of him. They both groan, and then Erik snarls and tries to shove Logan off. He's had to let go of his power over the Sentinels, and he's not happy about it. He's also not happy about the fact that his magnificent plan has once again been screwed up by Charles and his X-Men. If only he had the help of the Brotherhood, but all of them are long gone.

Once he gets his breath back, he summons the nearest metal he can find, and bends it towards him. He groans with the effort, and Logan, realises what he is trying to do, attempts to knock him out, but he's too late. The thick concrete, reinforced with steel rods, wraps around his ankles, wrists and neck, like with Lena in Paris, and lifts him into the air.

Erik stands up in front of the grunting Logan, and brushes the dust off his cape. He can feel Logan rolling his eyes, even though he's not looking at him. Let him judge him. Erik is in power now.

With a lazy flick of his hand, Erik sends Logan flying into the air, backwards towards goodness knows where. Erik doesn't really care, as long as it's far enough away for him not to come back in the next 30 minutes.

He turns back towards the bunker, and sighs when he sees an abnormally long arm hitting Trask out of the way, and Mystique high kicking an agent out of her way. One X-Man down, five to go.

[][][][]

Once she's cleared enough space for them to run, Lena signals to Raven and they both sprint towards the lawn, even though that might not be any safer, with a maniac metal bender between them and the stopping of this chaos. No one in the bunker is hurt, just stunned enough to let them get out of the bunker and away from the immediate danger.

She doesn't look at Erik, whose eyes she feels on her as she runs towards Charles, who is stranded on the lawn, his wheelchair metres away. She can also see Peter and Hank crouched by Aiysha, who is alright, hopefully.

She stops suddenly, something blocking her, and looks towards Erik. He lifts a hand in her direction, searching for any metal. He sends her a glare when he finds none; but he shouldn't be surprised, no X-Man accustomed to Erik would be stupid enough to wear metal to something like this.

But the blockade?

She puts her hands against it, and it's hard and solid, just like her force fields. She can't talk to Erik, because of his helmet, but she thinks a message anyway.

 _What are you doing, Erik?_

As if he's heard her, although there's no way he could have done, he twists his hand, and a piece of concrete reinforced with steel, like what she saw him hit Logan with, flies out of nowhere, pinning her to the ground.

She hears Charles.

 _Lena!_

 _I'm fine._ She sends back, although she knows he's rolling his eyes. _Focus on the maniac trying to kill the President._

 _Alright._ He replies sulkily, and retreats from her mind, and from the slight flinch from Raven, starts to talk to her.

[][][][]

When Erik has taken down Logan and Lena in two swift moves, Hank turns to Peter, who is watching the scene terrified, with an open mouth. For the umpteenth time, Hank wishes that Peter wasn't here.

He knows a way he can make sure Peter isn't here any longer.

"Peter!" Hank yells, even though he's only half a metre away. The teen's eyes continue to flick between Erik and Raven, and Hank receives no reply, so he yells again. "Peter!" Finally, Peter turns to look at him in surprise. "You need to get Aiysha away, okay?" Peter nods blankly. "Take her to this address." He shoves the piece of paper he always kept in his wallet into Peter's hand. He also hands him his spare phone (Hank is the type of person who always carries at least 3 forms of communication. Being an X-Man, it's kind of in the job description.) "Ring the contact Alex Summers. Tell him Aiysha is injured, and that you are with her at Sean's Washington apartment. Tell him you're a friend of Hank. Stay there with her until Alex shows up, then all three of you come to Westhester." Peter nods. "Right, what did I say?" Hank asks.

"Take Aiysha to an address. Ring Alex Summers, tell him she's injured and to come to Sean's Washington flat. And that I'm your friend." Peter recites, gripping the piece of paper tightly.

"And to come to Westchester as soon as Alex comes back."

"And to come to Westchester as soon as Alex comes back." He repeats.

Hank smiles.

"You've done a great job, Peter." He pats him on the shoulder. "You won't be there long, don't worry. Once you tell him Aiysha's injured, he'll be there faster than you can run the hundred metres."

Hank chuckles as Peter picks up Aiysha, who fell asleep as soon as she knew she was safe(r).

"See you, Hank."

Hank nods.

"See you, Peter."


	28. Chapter 28- Deciding(3)

Deciding (3)

A/N Hello, welcome to chapter 28! This story has become a lot longer than I thought it would be, but anyway, I hope you had a good week, and thanks for reading!

Raven feels a small weight lift off of her shoulders when she sees Peter leave with Aiysha. That's two less people to worry about, but also one less fighter, a particularly valuable one at that. She's glad Peter's gone, though, because however talented he is, he's _sixteen_ , and could get caught up in crossfire despite how fast he moves.

She smiles to herself. This is what sets Charles and the X-Men apart from Erik and the Brotherhood, she thinks to herself; Erik would have kept a mutant as talented as Peter at all costs, despite his age, Charles would let him go as soon as possible. Peter told her of Charles' reluctance to include him at all, and Raven feels a surge of pride towards her brother. She prefers this way of doing things, and is glad she's gone back to them.

But meanwhile, she has a bunker full of people to protect with only the help of Hank, an Erik to stop, and possibly a Trask to kill. She still hasn't made her mind up about the last option.

She surveys the scene. Erik still hasn't made any attempt to eliminate her, like he did with Lena, so she assumes he believes she could still help him. She eyes him warily as she glances over at Hank. Hank has transformed into his natural form, blue fur and all. Now that Aiysha has left, he's stood up, and looks pretty threatening. Raven now understands why the people were cowering away from someone who wasn't Erik.

Finally, she sees Charles. He is sitting up on his elbows, shouting to Lena, who isn't replying. Raven hears his voice in her head.

 _Please, Raven. Stop him._

Raven nods at him, and although she can't see his expression totally clearly, she thinks he smiles.

She runs towards Erik, who holds up a hand and stops her.

"What do you want, Mystique?" He asks coldly. She bridles at the use of that name, but doesn't let it show. She walks towards him confidently, eyes fixed on the hand gun he's turned to point at her.

"What do you think?" She asks, smiling at him like she used to; it works, and he relaxes slightly, and floats down to the ground. "I want to help."

"You're not mad about me shooting you?" He asks.

She shakes her head, and when she looks at him, she almost feel sorry for him. Lonely Erik, wanting deep down just to have a friend.

 _It's his decision to be on his own._ She reminds herself. _He left Charles, he left you._

"Of course not." She says. "I would have done the same."

Erik nods, and she almost feels guilty at betraying him when he trusts her so easily. Then, she hears the gasps of her friend as she struggles against of the concrete crushing her. Raven holds out her hand to shake Erik's. Please let this work.

He grips her hand tightly, and then a spark of electricity shoots up his arm, then spreads through his body, eventually reaching his head. His mouth opens in shock, then his eyes roll back into his head, and Erik collapses to the ground.

Raven draws her hand back, and smiles at the small button in her hand that sends out large electric shocks. Hank slipped it into her hand (safety mechanism on) before she went to the bunker, and she's been wondering how to get Erik to hold it ever since.

With Erik unconscious, all the metal falls to the ground, and from the gasp behind her, the concrete gets heavier as well. Apparently Erik wasn't completely trying to destroy Lena. Raven shrugs.

Her two sides conflict as she bends down to pick up the handgun Erik had trained on her less than thirty seconds ago.

She stands up, and sees with a grimace that beside Trask stands Charles, a concerned expression on his face.

"Please, Raven." He says, and his voice echoes around her head.

"Shut up, Charles!" Mystique yells. Or was it Raven? She doesn't even know anymore.

She tries to focus on Trask. Trask, who killed her friends, who wants to eradicate her species and experiment on her, who is standing right in front of her whilst she holds a loaded gun in her hands.

Why is she hesitating?

Why is she seriously considering this?

She's never killed before. Erik used to say your first kill made you who you were. It showed the world you mattered. Charles used to say your first kill made you rethink who you were. It showed you the true monster you could be.

But what does she say?

Her hands tremble, and she realises she already knows how this should end.

This isn't going to be her first kill. She hopes there will never be one. If she kills Trask, she only proves him wrong.

Isn't that what you should be doing? Proving the bullies wrong, instead of proving them right and creating more?

Your first kill decides who you are, whether you're the one to take the life or the one to stop the life being taken.

Raven is the one who stops the life being taken.

So she's Raven?

But that doesn't feel completely right, does it?

Raven would never have got here.

Mystique would pull the trigger.

So who is she?

 _I'm me._ She thinks. _I'm the one to stop the life being taken._ She gasps. She remembers the newspaper article on the origin of her third name, the woman who gave her life to stop the life of her mutant son being taken, the woman who tried to stop the life being taken. _I'm Maud._

Maud drops the gun.

She turns around towards the body of Erik, and pulls off the helmet.

"Go wild, Charles."

[][][][]

Charles watches Raven nervously as she walks towards Erik; she reaches out to shake his hand and Charles nearly faints with relief. He knows Hank gave her the clever shocker, but wasn't completely sure of Raven's allegiance until now. The shocker works effectively, and Erik falls to the ground; joined by all of the metal he was supporting.

He hears a gasp over to his left. _No, please._ He thinks. _Let her be okay._

Charles looks up again and sees Raven pick up the gun. He enters her mind instantly, and when he is snapped out of get out, he surprises himself by doing as he's asked, even if he keeps watching her thought processes.

Oh. He'd never realised the extent of the battle between Raven and Mystique. He feels himself smiling when he finds out that neither of those women win this time.

Maud removes the helmet from Erik's head, and Charles smiles.

This is the moment where they win.

He takes control of Erik's mind instantly, and lifts the concrete off of Lena, who gasps then sits up on her elbows, and he brings his wheelchair towards him. Hank runs to his side, and helps him up into it.

Charles looks towards Maud and Erik.

"Hank." He says quietly. Hank looks up at him questioningly. "Would you mind handing Erik over to the President?"

Hank blinks.

"Still looking like this?" He asks, gesturing to the blue fur.

Charles nods.

"Yes, Hank. Don't you think it would make a better impression?"

Hank smiles.

"Of course, Charles. It'd be my pleasure."

Hank walks off, and Charles pushes himself towards Lena. She smiles when she sees him coming, and sits up, crossing her legs. _She looks okay_ , he thinks with a smile of relief.

"I'm fine." She says, and stands up shakily.

"Lena!" He cries, throwing out his hands to steady her.

"I'm _fine._ " She repeats, although she does hold his hands and leans on them heavily for support. "Just a few broken ribs, that's all. Nothing a quick nap won't fix." She yawns, then leans gently on the arm of Charles' wheelchair. She runs her fingers gently through his hair, then sighs and smiles down at him. He grins back, unable to help himself.

They look over towards Maud, and she looks back. She nods once at Charles, once at Lena, then walks towards the exit.

Charles sighs, and Lena rubs his shoulder.

"You going to be okay?" She asks softly.

He nods.

'i think so. I'll have you and Gaia, won't I?" He asks, his stomach curling with nerves. He smiles with relief when she nods.

"Of course you will." She grins back, then reaches into her pocket. "That reminds me, Clint has probably heard about this on the news and started panicking."

She turns the screen on, and swears under her breath as she sees the notification that tells her there are 45 missed calls from 'Clint Barton". The phone starts ringing again, and she picks up.

"Hey, Clint." She says.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?" Clint's voice roars out the phone, and Lena winces. Charles stifles a giggle as Hank comes back over, and Lena hits his shoulder and then wanders off to talk to Clint.

"Calm down, Clint!" Lena says.

'LENA, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET HOLD OF YOU FOR AN HOUR."

"I was busy."

"SO I'VE SEEN. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED?"

"Clint, relax and shut up! I did what I had to do to save the world, just like you told me to."

There's a pause. "How's Gaia?"

Clint sighs.

"Fine, you're forgiven." Lena grins at his words. "And she doesn't know. She's been watching Doctor Who since I heard the news; I've been distracting her so she doesn't hear it."

"Thanks, Clint. I owe you big time for looking after her."

"You settling down after this?"

"Clint, I need to go." He pauses again.

"Okay, I'll speak to you later, and Gaia will want to talk."

"Thanks, love you."

"Love you, bye." He hangs up, and Lena walks back towards Hank and Charles are standing, talking quietly.

"What's up?" She asks Hank.

"The President is letting us go, because as I pointed out, we saved him, and handed Erik over."

"That's good."

"Yes, but he seems a bit shocked. I think we should make a move before he tries to arrest us." Charles says.

Both Hank and Lena nod in agreement.

"Let's go."


	29. Chapter 29-Epilogue(1)

Epilogue(1)

A/N This is the first epilogue, I know that kind of sounds weird to have two, but I thought I'd do one for the past and one for the future, as I found the ending of DOFP a bit unsatisfying. Also, I'm really sorry for the late update, I've got exams which are very serious business, so they sadly had to come first. I hope you all are well, and enjoy the chapter :-)

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Marvel, I own nothing

Gaia stands uncertainly in the doorway, her backpack slung over her shoulder. She blushes, and look down at her trainers.

Clint leans uncomfortably against the kitchen side, already missing them, when they're not even out the door. He's going to miss Gaia especially. He's seen her every day of her life.

Lena walks over to Gaia, and picks the girl up in her arms.

"Oof." She exclaims. "You're growing up, honey."

Gaia smiles slightly, and then frowns as she's placed on the floor next to the man in the wheelchair whom she knows is her dad.

 _Hello, Gaiathryn_ A voice says in her head, and she feels a large grin spread across her face. She knew her dad would be a telepath.

 _You can call me Gaia._ She replies.

 _It's lovely to meet you. I've been looking forward to it for a long time._

 _Me too._ Gaia tells him honestly, and wrings her hands. She knows he's smiling, because she feels a small smile travel down the telepathic connection. _Are we coming with you?_

 _If you want to._

 _Where do you live?_

 _In a big house, one which will soon be full with mutants, once you've helped me paint it._

 _Is it a mutant hotel?_ She asks excitedly, and she hears him laugh.

 _Even better. It's a school._

Gaia looks up, and grins at him.

 _That's so cool! Can I attend?_

 _Of course. But from what I've heard, you've already received quite an extensive education._

 _Well, Uncle Tony says it's the best education ever. But Uncle Bruce always rolls his eyes when he says that._ She pauses. _Will Hank be there?_

 _Yes, he's our science teacher._

 _Who are the other teachers?_

 _We're not entirely sure, we're going to start recruiting soon._

 _Could you recruit a PE teacher from this room?_ _He's very good._ Gaia asks with a cheeky smile, looking him in the eyes for the first time.

Charles looks up.

"Clint." He says, and Clint looks at him in surprise.

"Yes?"

"We're looking for teachers at the school, and we could do with a PE teacher. Gaia's told me what a great job you've done with her."

Clint opens his mouth in amazement.

"I'd.. I'd love to." He says, and Lena walks over and squeezes his hand.

"Thank you, Clint." Charles replies. "And also, thank you for looking after them when I didn't. I'm sorry that burden fell to you."

Clint's mouth remains open. With such a profound apology, how could he stay mad?

"You're welcome, Charles. It was an honour to look after them."

Lena hits his arm, but is grinning.

Charles turns back to Gaia.

 _I'd love to get to know you, Gaia, if that's okay with you._

 _I think that's okay with me. You seem like you'd be a good dad._

 _I hope I can be._

Gaia grins, and hops across the kitchen to tug on her mum's hand.

"Can we go see the school?" She asks.

"Course, honey."

Gaia wraps her arms around Clint's waist, and he strokes her hair fondly.

"Bye, Da." She says.

"I'll come to the school in a few weeks, once I've sorted everything out." He looks up at Charles. "If that's okay with you?"

Charles nods.

"We probably won't open the school for another six months at least, with all the construction we need to do."

"Perfect. I'll come as soon as possible."

Lena hands Gaia her coat, which she pulls on.

"We'll be off, then. See you soon, Clinton." She hugs him tightly.

"Bye, Eleanor."

[][][][][][][][]

Charles rings the doorbell, a suitcase in his hand, whilst Lena pulls the rest of the bags out of the boot of the car.

Hank opens the door, and steps aside to let Charles through.

"Hey, Gaia." Hank calls, and Gaia looks round and grins at him.

"Hank!" She cries, and runs past him into the house. "Mr Xavier, you never told me your house was so cool!"

"Do you want a tour?" Charles asks her. She nods. "Lena, do you want any help with the bags?"

"No!" comes the reply. "You take Gaia on the grand tour."

Charles laughs and turns to Gaia.

"I'm afraid it's not going to be that grand." He whispers, and feels his heart melt as she grins at him.

"I don't mind."

[][][][]

During dinner, Charles' phone rings, and seeing the caller ID, he apologises to the others and answers it.

However, he doesn't get much further than 'hello, Alex', before an ear-splitting roar erupts from the phone.

"I LEFT FOR THREE MONTHS. THREE MONTHS WAS ALL YOU HAD TO LOOK AFTER HER FOR. _THREE MONTHS._ AND WHAT DO YOU DO? LET HER GET KIDNAPPED BY A JUDGEMENTAL IDIOT!"

"Hello, Alex." Charles tries again.

"THREE MONTHS! THAT'S ALL YOU HAD TO DO! WAS THAT REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK?"

"No, of course not, look, come to Westchester, and I'll explain.

"IT'D BETTER BE A GOOD EXCUSE!" Alex roars. Charles hears Aiysha's voice in the background.

"Alex, leave him alone."

Alex sighs.

'We'll be here in two days."

"I can get you there faster." Peter pipes up.

"We'll be there as fast as this random teenager can run." Alex amends, and hangs up.

Charles sighs.

"That went well." He murmurs, and Hank chuckles.

"What colour shall we paint the bedrooms?" He asks, and Charles gives him a grateful smile. Anything to focus him on the school, anything to make his dream seem that little bit closer.

[][][][][]

Even by Peter's standards, the trio arrive quickly.

Gaia hides in the hall shyly, standing next to Charles, who sends her encouraging smiles.

"It's okay." Lena tells her daughter. "They're my friends, just like Hank."

Hank smiles at Gaia, and she grins back.

"But Alex sounded scary." She whispers, and glances towards the door. Charles laughs.

"That's only because he thought Aiysha was hurt." Gaia pales, and Charles adds hurriedly, "but she's fine, she can heal like your mum."

Gaia swallows, then nods and looks towards the door.

It opens mariginally, then Peter runs in, and collapses on the floor.

Hank kneels down beside him, a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Peter lifts his hand in a feeble thumbs up.

"Can I have something to eat, please?" He asks to the floor, and Gaia concentrates, pulling a branch of the apple tree through the open window. An apple falls to the ground in front of Peter, and he picks it up in shock, then looks around. She grins shyly, and his eyes widen.

"You did that?" He asks, gesturing to the new decoration in the hall.

She nods, and he lifts his hand. "High five, mini female Charles."

Gaia giggles, then high fives him.

Alex storms in, and walks up to Charles. Evidently Alex's temper did not calm down on the trip from Washington.

"Charles! What did you do? Why did you go on some suicidal mission to save the world?" He yells, although more calmly than before. "Did you advise him about this?" He asks Lena, and she shrugs. Alex turns back to Charles, then a jigsaw puzzle piece clicks into place and he spins back to her. "Bloody hell!" He cries. "Eleanor? Is it really you?"

"Yeah." She blushes, and reaches out to hug him. "Also, language, we have a young child present."

Everyone in the room turns to look at Gaia, who shrinks away from their gazes.

"Hi." She says quietly, and takes a step back towards Charles.

Aiysha grins, and waves at her.

"Hey, I'm Aiysha."

"I've heard of you." Gaia replies, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm Gaia."

Charles takes his daughter's hand, and smiles warmly at her.

"Alex, let me introduce my daughter, Gaiathryn, first student at the newly opening as soon as possible Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters."

Alex looks between Lena, Gaia, Charles, Hank, Aiysha, Peter and the large branch winding across the foyer, and sighs.

"Will somebody please explain what's going on?"


	30. Chapter 30- Epilogue(2)

Epilogue(2)

A/N So, I suppose this is it. Thank you so much for reading, especially any of you who have been here right from the beginning. Special thanks go to NicoleR85 and anonymouscsifan, your reviews always make me smile, so thank you. And also to hannahonskittles, who helped me get my plot together, as well as reading anything I sent her. But thanks to everyone really, and I hope you enjoyed this story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Marvel!

Logan wanders the corridors, trying not to overreact whenever he sees a friend that he once saw die. He gets used to it as he passes Hank, then Rogue, and Alex, finally breaking into a grin when he sees Peter. Peter wasn't there in the previous future, and Logan is pleased to see that he's found his place at the school.

Eventually, he realises where he's going, and pushes the door to the patio open. The Professor turns around with a smile.

"Good morning, Logan." He greets him warmly, but then his smile vanishes when he catches a few stray thoughts. "Ah." He continues. "I wondered when this day would come."

Logan sighs, and chuckles.

"Well, anything you can do to make me less confused, that'd be great." He sits down in a wicker chair that overlooks the lawn.

"When do your memories stop?"

"When Mags threw me into the lake. I remember water, and then I woke up here. Seeing dead people."

Charles smiles.

"They're not dead anymore. Thanks to you, Logan."

"Yeah, well, I think I'll feel better about the spectacular things I've done after some breakfast and a history lesson."

"We set up the school." Charles gestures around him. "We found all the people you told us too, and more. You're a teacher, by the way. You appeared here about eight months ago."

"I'm a _what?_ " Logan protests. "Oh crap. Please say I'm not a PE teacher."

Charles shakes his head, and tilts his head in the direction of the lawn.

"No, _that's_ our PE teacher."

Logan follows his gaze, and spots a tall man teaching a young teenager how to shoot a bow.

"Clint Barton?" He asks, and Charles nods. "Isn't he the one who punched you in the face?"

Charles laughs.

"Yes, it is." He smiles. "He still hasn't apologised, actually."

"You did deserve it." Logan tells him honestly, and Charles shrugs.

"Yeah, I did."

Charles sips his tea self-consciously.

"Who's the kid?" Logan asks to change the subject.

"That's my son, Richard." Charles says, smiling again. "He's the only one who will get up early enough for Clint's archery lessons."

Logan gives him a look.

"So you had another kid, then, huh?" He glances at Charles' hand. "You got married?"

Charles nods.

"Rich is 15 next week."

"Is he a mutant?" Logan asks.

"Telepath, like myself." He pauses. "I know it's a lot to take in, Logan, but don't worry, you'll have time to adjust. Hank, Alex, Aisha, Lena and myself, we all know what happened, so if you're confused, just ask any of us."

"Thanks, Charles. I suspect your two kids would be able to help as well, what with their abilities."

"That's true." Charles finishes his tea and sets the mug down. "Luckily for you, we're on the summer holidays, so no classes today."

Logan sighs.

"And the X-Men? They still a thing?"

"Sadly, they're needed. Still, they haven't run a mission in a while."

"Who is the line up?"

"Well, we've got Cyclops, Vines, Tide, Polaris, Quicksilver, and then Kitty, who is yet to think of codename she can stand."

"That's a good team." Logan answers. "Vines and Tide, huh? They still an item?" He grins, and laughs when Charles frowns. "Seems I've hit a soft spot."

"Yes, they are." He frowns. "Stop laughing!"

Logan shakes his head.

"Still protective over Gaia?"

Charles glares at him.

"Let me give you a tour of the school." He says grumpily.

Logan catches his shoulder as Charles tries to wheel his chair away.

"Hey, Professor, you know I'm only joking."

"It's good to have you back, Logan." Charles replies solemnly.

Logan sighs, and puts his hands in his pockets. He looks out over the grounds with a smile.

"It's good to _be_ back."


End file.
